In commemorating the 40th anniversary of the imposition of martial law, it is worth recalling one of the most specific, symbolic and grassroots forms of social resistance to the lawlessness of 13 December 1981, through which the Communist regime sought to suppress the pursuit of freedom in the country. Apart from taking to the streets to participate in demonstrations dispersed by the ZOMO, a large number of people took up the task of arranging crosses several metres high, made of flowers, plants and candles, on city squares and near churches, which were then removed by the security services, usually during the night. This struggle was brilliantly expressed by Jan Pietrzak in his song “Illegal Flowers”, quoted above. It was a unique form of protest; mass, open, silent and prayerful, allowing the expression of feelings and emotions shared by almost everyone who had their hopes for freedom rekindled after the “Solidarity carnival”, which was brutally suppressed by the communist authorities.The exhibition at the Kordegarda presents this iconographic motif, somewhat forgotten but so important for independent culture, which emerged as a reaction of painters to this specific social protest. In the few works presented here, as in a nutshell, independent art was shown, reacting to the socio-political situation and giving artistic form to the existential experience of the time. The images of several Warsaw artists, inspired by spontaneously arranged crosses made of flowers, are shown in the context of photographs by prominent photographers who risked their lives to document this form of social resistance.Dates and venue: 09.12.2021 – 6.01.2022, Kordegarda. Gallery of the National Centre for Culture, 15/17 Krakowskie Przedmieście St in Warsaw, free admission.Curator: prof. Tadeusz BorutaOrganiser:  National Centre for Culture, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland, Kordegarda. Gallery of the National Centre for Culture