The Process of Creating an Installation
Reusing every item I considered redundant or cluttering my basement (story foam, bottles of expanding foam, aluminium pieces, old socket)
Final Outcomes
I painted it in fluorescent orange to make it more remarkable and visible amongst the greyness of Praga district. Why? Because Praga’s rich history makes the surrounding extraordinary, where bullet marks on buildings are still visible. Praga as a fantastic but forgotten district is an inspiring place for young artists like me.
I had a vision of creating an installation that would bring one neglected backyard to life. I chose to use pieces of story foam of different size coming from my old blown installation. I cut the pieces in such a way so that they would match. Expanding foam allowed me to glue everything together. I had to wait couple of days for it to swell up and dry. Praga is the district that brings so much sentiment but also sadness because of its negligence by city authorities. So I painted my piece in fluorescent orange to make something more remarkable amongst the greyness of the district.
Then I took it to the backyard and place it in different spots. It was a success, because it enlivened that dreary backyard, made the space puzzling. It was no longer a dead spot, because I made something which attracted people attention.
Next photos show the process of introducing my installation to different parts of Warsaw. I thought about other places where people walk through unconsciously minding their own business. I came up with an idea to put my piece between Warsaw railway central station, a shopping mall and subway exit. It is a dead spot to me, where everybody is pursuing their own goal and nobody cares about the surrounding.
The photos I made show that this place gathers a lot of pedestrians, it is only attractive because of the shopping centre. I wanted to give the space something to look at and those photos show pedestrians reactions which where very diverse. (furious dog barked, children coming bla bla) Simultaneously that was also an experiment/test how unexpected for of art will affect viewers. I noticed that only children were curious and brave to ask what is it and if they can touch it. On the contrary, adults were stopping by just to stay out of the shot and I had to convince them that they should behave natural, that I am invisible. It was an interesting observation for me and I must admit I really enjoyed experimenting with the concept of public sculpture and engagement.
