Sculptures from the Cases series

Technique: ceramic sculpture

Dimensions: approx. 180 cm to 220 cm (height)

Object: The series of sculptures consists of four free-standing sculptures with synthetic representations of female figures sitting on cubic pedestals, and two ceramic compositions – reliefs depicting silhouettes of naked bodies “imprinted” in clay. All the sculptures are integrated into the walkway leading from the local train station to the intersection of Pomorska, Gospoda and Chłopska Streets. In 1974, the artist referred to them as “cases for our psyche’s various states and circumstances”, such as, for example, love, laziness, sadness, pain. “A case – as she explained – is a direct encouragement to identify with the idea behind it.” Also, in 2010 she explained in Gazeta Wyborcza that: “My Cases were supposed to be a human touch in this architecture, a place where you could hide, cuddle up”. The sculptor made them in 1974 during a plein-air workshop in Kadyny.

Originally, the series consisted of five free-standing sculptures and two reliefs.

Place: Żabianka was the first experimental estate on the Polish coast where urban planners decided to place works of art between the grey blocks of flats. Swietłana Zerling, working with artists from the so-called “Kadyny” group (Edward Roguszczak, Maria Kuczyńska, Hanna Żuławska, Swietłana Zerling and architect Jacek Krenz), created an innovative project: “Ceramics for architecture”. It consisted of a fountain, sculptures and reliefs, as well as 3D and art arrangement of the areas between the buildings (hills, flower beds, Indian villages, playgrounds, etc.). Everything is made of natural materials (clay, wood), which contrast with the dehumanised concrete of prefabricated slab blocks of flats.

Information about the author: Swietłana Zerling studied at the Faculty of Sculpture of the State Higher School of Fine Art (PWSSP) in Gdańsk, in the studios of professors Stanisław Horno-Popławski and Alfred Wiśniewski. She received her diploma in 1972. She participated in international ceramics exhibitions in Gdańsk and holds distinctions from the International Ceramics Competition in Faenza (1976) and the 10^th National Exhibition of Young Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Art in Sopot (1974). Zerling received a scholarship of the Ministry of Culture and Art. She worked with sculptures and ceramics, and was a member of the famous “Kadyny” group, active in the 1970s. Her sculptural work is aligned with modernism.

Condition of the object: partially destroyed, awaiting renovation, currently the sculptures are slightly neglected and regularly damaged by vandals. None of the sculptures has a description plaque.

Owner/guardian: Żabianka Housing Cooperative

Author of the entry: Kora Kowalska