It was the end of the school year and the first day of summer when an artistic fabric by Oscar Andersson premiered in the neon-lit courtyard on Ruska Street in Wrocław. The blue-and-green piece of art, resembling a modern tapestry, was created in cooperation with a Swedish illustrator and a group of teenagers he worked with in June this year. During his month-long stay in Wrocław, Andersson decided to test this artistic medium. He drew inspiration from children’s drawings, local architectural ornaments and – most importantly – the symbolism and mythology of the underwater world.
One reason to create a piece responsive to gusts of wind was the interior of the Wrocław SPA Centre on Teatralna Street. This unique place, as explained by its director, had inspired the architects who designed the most beautiful swimming pool complex in this part of Europe, located in Budapest. Who would have thought that Wrocław somehow launched such places to be built in other cities?
The SPA Centre has inspired artists for years. For instance, the Survival Art Review 2007 took place in one of the historical bathhouses, and in the 1980s, Kormorany – a band from the Wrocław independent music scene – performed there. Engaging curiosity about spotting new but also more familiar (under)water stories connected to Wrocław, whether art-related or not, became a recurring theme of Oscar Andersson’s residency. Such topics often appear in his work.
On the other hand, these motifs remind Wrocław residents of the year 1997, a year deeply embedded in the city’s history. It becomes even more intriguing for someone who arrives in Wrocław for the first time and has no prior knowledge of this event – a situation Oscar found himself in. His art and research took him back to the 18th century and the non-existent Neptune fountain, erected in Plac Nowy Targ in 1732. As recorded in city logbooks, the sight was highly controversial. Some residents associated the man with a trident with the devil, colloquially calling him Gabeljürgen or “Jurek with pitchforks.”
The fountain was destroyed during World War II, and its remnants disappeared. However, just last year, some pieces of the sculpture were discovered, and Andersson saw them during his visit to Dr. Tomasz Sielicki’s studio at the Museum of Cemetery Art. Throughout his residency, Oscar went on many exploratory walks – some alone, others with local guide Szymon Maraszewski, who familiarised him with lesser-known urban legends and water-related facts, such as the Nymph and Triton sculptures at the water tower.
It is worth emphasising that the resident spent considerable time reflecting not only on the urban fabric but also on museums, such as the Arsenal. There, he discovered archived blueprints of the SPA Centre. A study tour, organised in collaboration with local culture manager Joanna Grzelczyk, allowed him to examine documents detailing the building’s expansion and hand-made architectural drawings that intricately depicted the facade and decorative elements.
Only after familiarising himself with these details did Andersson begin group workshops with teenagers at the Tadeusz Mikulski Lower Silesian Public Library. On the first day, they toured the swimming pool complex on Teatralna Street, analysing and photographing its ornaments. Next, the artist encouraged participants to transform their inspirations into drawings of imagined characters. These initial concepts would later appear in the artistic fabric Andersson was creating.
Oscar adapted seamlessly to the residency’s dynamic reality – where flexibility and openness to the unexpected are essential skills. During subsequent workshops, the teenagers refined their ideas and worked with fabrics chosen by the artist. Meetings took place under the library’s frescoed ceiling, created by painter Anna Szpakowska-Kujawska, which evoked an underwater atmosphere. Blue shapes, seen from a distance, resembled rising tides, inspiring participants to develop their characters further.
In the privacy of his flat on Plac Solny, Andersson continued working on the fabric. The process – marked by waiting, as suggested in the title – resulted in a pastel triptych. Though only one piece of fabric was created, it was divided into three acts. Its centrepiece depicts Neptune with a trident, presiding over underwater characters created by workshop participants. Neptune’s pose echoes that of the fountain’s lost sculpture. The background features waves in lemon, green, and blue hues, creating a harmonious yet vibrant composition.
After group consultations at ATUT Bilingual Primary School, the teenagers decided where to place their characters within the fabric. The culmination of their efforts was celebrated at the Courtyard Festival on Ruska 46 Street. The fabric’s appearance changes with the time of day – sparkling like the sea’s surface in sunlight and resembling a mural in neon light. The vibrant artwork fits perfectly within the courtyard’s artistic context, where creativity thrives.
Resident: Oscar Andersson
Curator: Paulina Brelińska-Garsztka
Local assistance: Joanna Grzelczyk
Place of residency: Wrocław Institute of Culture (Wrocław, Poland)
Practice: Illustration, artistic fabric, research activities
Workshop participants: ATUT Bilingual Primary School
Partners of the Residency: Tadeusz Różewicz Municipal Public Library in Wrocław, Wrocław SPA Centre
The Wrocław Institute of Culture is a partner of the international platform MagiC Carpets – co-funded by the European Union programme Creative Europe – which unites dozens of cultural organisations.
Curatorial text by Paulina Brelińska-Garsztka