Property

2018

Readymade

16. Survival Art Review, Wroclaw

 

Co-author: Marcin Iwan

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The materials used for the reconstruction of Warsaw were taken from dismantled towns in the so-called Recovered Territories. The majority of the bricks came from torn-down buildings in Wroclaw. Thus, the heart of the newly rebuilt country—Warsaw—rose from the rubble, while simultaneously crippling the architecture and infrastructure of Lower Silesia.

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The socialist symbol of labour—the brick—was crafted by a German hand, only to become the foundation for resurrecting Poland. The rich and well-developed Recovered Territories represented enormous capital, received by Poland almost by accident. Yet this capital was never fully appreciated. Majestic Lower Silesian palaces were left to decay, and places steeped in history were inhabited by people who felt no connection to the land.

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As a symbolic gesture of acknowledgment, we sent a brick from the apartment we were currently living in—in the centre of Warsaw–to the city of Wroclaw.