Variable V

Technique: metal sculpture

Dimensions: –

Object: Ewa Topolan and Adriana Majdzińska’s Variable V sculpture forms part of the Gdańsk Open-Air Sculpture Gallery. It was created as part of the “Crossroads of Freedom” Festival of Spatial Forms, inspired by the idea of freedom in Gdańsk. The event took place from 2009 to 2019 and included an international spatial form and artistic installation competition, an international wood sculpture plein-air, a seminar on art in public space and numerous accompanying events. Freedom, the main idea of the festival, was also the theme of the annual competition. It was understood not only in terms of the subject matter, but also form of execution and freedom of artistic expression.

During the festival, Variable V was presented in Główne Miasto, between Katownia and Wyżynna Gate, and then transferred to John Paul II Park in Zaspa, where it remains to this day. The sculpture consists of four interconnected elements in the shape of right-angled triangles. They are connected in such a way that when looking at the object from one side of the sculpture, one sees that they form the letter V, and when looking at it from the other side, they form an inverted letter V. The whole structure forms a gate or a kind of triumphal arch. The fact its festival showcase took place on the Royal Route, between the historic gates of Gdańsk, provoked people to also read it as an element through which one can pass, a modern structure with a triumphal character added to the Royal Route. The possibility to change the reception of the work, to read the different layers of meaning of the sculpture, is related to the perspective from which one looks at it – depending on how the sculpture is viewed, it changes its shape and the V on which it is built rotates and relates to the layer of meaning. This effect reminds us of the changeability of fate, when victories are followed by defeats, and then more victories. At the same time, it is also a warning against exaggerated pride and conceit, encouraging reflection on the fluidity and perversity of fate.

Place: The John Paul II Park, where the sculpture is located, is situated in the district of Zaspa Rozstaje between the former runway of the Wrzeszcz Airport (now John Paul II Avenue and housing estate developments located on the former airport runway and on the periphery of the park in the years 2011–12), Rzeczypospolitej Avenue (the border of the park from the west), the district of Przymorze Wielkie (from the north) and Janusz Meissner Street (from the east). The park was built between 1981 and 1988 on the land used by Wrzeszcz Airport (the undeveloped part of the airport) as a residential park for the residents of Zaspa and Przymorze Wielkie. It used to be a pine forest through which flowed the Brzeźno Stream. In 1987, Pope John Paul II celebrated a mass in the park, and 20 years later, to commemorate this event, a “Green Monument” was erected on the site of the papal altar, dedicated to the memory of John Paul II. The park is partly composed of older trees transplanted there between 1982 and 1983, plantings of younger trees from that period and additions made in 2006. The park is interspersed with walking paths with cinder and asphalt surfaces.

Information about the author: Ewa Topolan is a sculptor, photographer and designer. She graduated from the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. Topolan devised and created the Lady from the Window figure in Gdańsk and masks for the Shrek musical directed by Jeanine Tesori.

Adrianna Majdzińska (b. 1973 in Słupsk) is a sculptor, educator and academic lecturer, who also works with drawing and organizes artistic endeavours and social initiatives. She graduated from the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. In her creative work, she is interested in a classically understood spatial form. She mostly works with wood, but also employs metal, stone, concrete and ceramics. The selected material is always subordinated to the subject matter of the works. Majdzińska employs simple, synthetic forms, elevating them to the rank of symbols. She collaborates with Tri-City bands, developing her music interests.

Condition of the object: partly damaged

Owner/guardian: Gdańsk Community Foundation

Author of the entry: Dorota Kucharczyk