Girl with Apples

Marek ‘Looney’ Rybowski’s Girl with Apples is yet another colourful mural in the Siedlce district. It was placed on the gable wall of one of the buildings belonging to Primary School no. 14 in 2017. 

Dimensions: 5 m × ca. 12 m

Object: The composition of the mural is arranged horizontally, in bands, and adapted to the shape of the wall. The artist achieved its dynamism by drawing the viewer’s attention to the narrative emerging between the three key points of the image: on the left, a cheerful girl is sitting on the ground with a basket of apples; on the right, a dog is playing and looking towards the sky; and, in the upper part of the composition, there is an old car driving to the left. The child and the dog are situated in a field of rapeseed, and the figures are positioned to be visible among the trees and shrubs growing at the base of the wall. The artist often depicts children, musicians, and people in everyday, humorous situations, combining dynamism with playfulness, as if the aim is simply to cheer people up without any deeper meaning. Each viewer is free to interpret the scene and create their own story. ‘The idea was for the first impression to be joyful’, explains Marek ‘Looney’ Rybowski. Additionally, the artist wanted to reference another of his murals located nearby on Szara Street, ‘maintaining the mood and painting cheerful kids’. For most of his murals, the artist usually works with spray paint, using a roller only to paint the background. This was one of the first murals where Rybowski painted the background using brushes.

Location: The mural is painted on the greenery-surrounded wall of a changing room in the courtyard of Primary School no. 14, named after Father Grzegorz Piramowicz. It is clearly visible from the street and from the windows of passing trams.

Information about the author: Marek ‘Looney’ Rybowski (b. 1977) has been active since 1995. Alongside Tuse, he is one of the most recognisable graffiti artists in the Tricity area. He co-founded DSC, the first graffiti artist group in the region, and was also a member of the legendary EWC crew. He graduated from the Faculty of Painting and Graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk in 2008. Rybowski creates works on walls and canvases, using spray paint, stencils, and brushes. His murals and paintings are full of colour, energy, and joy, often depicting children, animals, and older people. His works have been exhibited in solo and group shows in Poland and abroad and are frequently featured in art magazines. Rybowski has participated in many artistic events, graffiti festivals, and street art projects. His pseudonym comes from the animated Looney Tunes series, popular in the 1980s and 1990s.

Condition of the object: good

Owner/guardian: the mural was commissioned by the District Council

Author of the entry: Oriana Radziuk