Crowd Crystal was a video-performative project conducted by Anna Jochymek,  curated by Klio Krajewska and presented at Watermans. The presentation took place on Thursday 13 Jan & Sunday 13 March and then Friday 20 May to Sunday 25 July 2021, as part of Watermans’ New Media Art programme.

Using her performative actions – recorded in London between 2017 and 2019 – in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum vote. Anna Jochymek explores the concept she developed and named as the ‘space of fear.’ She created this concept because she felt that there was a lack of terminology to express her personal experience of the dynamic of ongoing socio-cultural transformation. The project is driven by a need to speak up about the issue of limitation of perspectives, its relationship to power and how it affects the social atmosphere of our time.

For the purpose of this project she wears her father’s military field uniform, combined with inline skates. This unorthodox fusion became the instrument for addressing the social climate in Europe suffused with tension, gravitas and absurdity.

Military uniform symbolises archetypical armour, while skating symbolises freedom and rebellion. The latter is associated with a process of experiencing the space creatively and unconventionally, challenging yourself with every given surface. It is also a high-risk sport; essentially a death drive.

The route she chose was the original historical border of the city of London – the Roman Wall. London (Londinium) was established by the Romans who invaded Britain in the 5th century. In the city’s complex and multi-layered history, she marks her ephemeral presence along the historic border of the city founded and expanded by invaders.

Crowd Crystals are a phenomenon introduced by Elias Canetti in his book ‘Mass and power’. He explains them as small structures within society, which are the nucleus of power. Having pure potential without real power, the structure can become stronger and more significant when the political or societal situation is favourable. Anna Jochymek expands on Elias Canetti’s concept. The figure of a lonely in-line skating soldier becomes the embodiment of our potential to influence change.

The outcome of the project is a video installation designed in a way in which viewers can almost physically feel the space of fear surround them while located in a peaceful centre.