Histories of Art is a cycle of photographic stories devoted to destruction in art. Accidental damage done to works at museums, acts of deliberate devastation, program- matic destruction of art, lost heritage of modern culture, censorship and philosophical reflection on destruction – they all materialise in this cycle in the form of strange outgrowths in the daily life of the protagonists of the photographs. In Histories of Art, all events receive a photographic interpretation from Karolina Breguła, who perceives the act of destruction as a sort of interaction, a performative activity. Her surreal photographs embody her fascination with errors, accidents and attacks on the works she engages with – objects that derive a special power and value from their status as works of art.

The pictures evoke such works as Fettecke by Joseph Beuys, a large piece of butter placed in the corner of a room at the Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf, cleaned away by a member of the staff; the meteorite from La nona ora by Maurizio Cattelan, removed by MP Witold Tomczak; a hole in the painting by the Baroque artist Paolo Porpora made by a twelve- year-old as he tripped during a visit to the museum; and numerous sculptures by Katarzyna Kobro which the artist chopped and burnt during the war for lack of firewood. Breguła also refers to the reflection pursued by Kazimir Malevich regarding the idea of burning the artistic heritage of the bygone eras and placing the ashes in chemist bottles for future generations.