On April 9, a press conference was held at BWA Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski with the participation of the gallery’s director, Justyna Łada, dedicated to the realization of my project “Cosmos. Tribute to Hewelius.”
The installation will be presented in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski as part of the programme of the Centre of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko, “Sculpture in Public Space – 2026.” Out of 163 submitted projects, 20 will be fully funded, and BWA Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski is among them.
Soon, “Cosmos” will appear at Women’s Rights Square, next to the modernist building of the Municipal Cultural Centre — as a space of encounter between art, science, and imagination.
The installation is inspired by Jan Heweliusz, the outstanding astronomer who in the 17th century created some of the most precise maps of the Moon, published in “Selenographia” and “Machina Coelestis.”
I had the extraordinary opportunity to see original copies of these works at the PAS Library in Gdańsk during a doctoral seminar at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, led by Professor Dorota Folga-Januszewska. This experience became the impulse for creating “Cosmos,” first presented in 2022 at the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace in Wilanów, in the exhibition “The Moon and Sobieski’s Shield. Heveliana: Past and Contemporary Art.”
Yesterday’s conference coincided with a unique moment — the ongoing Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight around the Moon in over 50 years.
For me, it is symbolic: speaking about Heweliusz’s inspiration at a time when humanity is once again approaching the Moon, building on centuries of scientific legacy.
I am keeping my fingers crossed for the safe completion of the mission tonight.
And I am truly looking forward to collaborating with BWA Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski.
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fot. BWA Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
