Entitled “Poetics of necessity”, the Polish installation is inspired by the Window project, a call to action to collect reusable windows, given by Poles to Ukrainians stripped of dignified living conditions due to war.
The London Design Biennale writes on its website: “Windows are often abandoned in Polish garages, hastily removed during renovations, yet they have become valuable treasures, not only from an environmental perspective – but for human survival”. The installation shows how “a building element, the humble window, transforms from waste into a chance for safety. It becomes a transmitter of new relationships, a barometer of the most urgent needs. The window serves as a starting point for a discussion about changing aesthetics in design in times of sudden geopolitical shifts”.
The website adds: “When donors give windows, they are connected to the receiver who may be thousands of kilometers away – there is a fascinating trajectory of a window from home to home”.
The curators of the Polish Pavilion are Zofia Jaworowska, Michał Sikorski, and Petro Vladimirov. The installation has been mounted by the Warsaw-based Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
In a Twitter post, Poland’s Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Piotr Gliński, has congratulated the curators and the Institute team on their success.
The other medals at the opening ceremony of the London Design Biennale went to artists from Abu Dhabi and Taiwan. The institute added that the exhibits would be recycled into usable items and thus become "synonymous with security and the foundations of dialogue.
Founded in 2016, the London Design Biennale promotes international collaboration and the global role of design. This year’s edition, which runs until June 25, has brought together designers, innovators, and cultural bodies from 40 countries.
(mk/aj)