Mikołaj Sobczak

Alex was born in 1906 in the Lublin region and lived for 65 years. He escaped binary gender patterns and openly performed his otherness. He wore high heels, makeup, and often “feminine” clothes. Court and police records show that he used male pronouns and the term “homosexual”, but he might have used different gendered forms when speaking in his daily life. He was tried and sentenced to prison many times due to his sexual identity in Lublin and Warsaw before and during World War II. He actively participated in the life of is visible on the panel) and, after its bombing, in a restaurant in Warsaw.
The document reproduced here was stolen by Alex from someone named Mieczysław, a citizen with no criminal record, to be adopted as his identity card. Throughout his life, Alex explored many passions and talents. He is shown playing the piano using a weight to push one of the keys, a reference to his experience as a student of commerce in Antwerp and of music in Warsaw.
The artist borrows the characters of the triptych Großstadt (Metropolis) by Otto Dix to pay homage to the fantastical outfits he presumably has worn during his legendary parties.