Lukasz SUROWIEC (1985), Pre-war wooden floor cube from the rooms of the former Schindler's Factory; 2015

epoxy resin, wood; 9.5 x 9.5 x 6.5 cm
Signed, dated, described: Łukasz Surowiec 2015 13/100

A graduate of the Sculpture Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań and the Universität der Künste in Berlin. Artist
interdisciplinary: sculptor, performer, author of social actions, creator of videos.
In his work, the artist usually touches on social and political issues, examining the human condition in contemporary socio-economic conditions. He is the author of many projects, such as: , "Berlin-Birkenau" as part of the 2012 Berlin Biennale, , "Buying Tears" and , "The Level". His works have been presented in solo exhibitions at the Bunkier Sztuki in Krakow , "Dziady", at Kalmar Konstmuseum in Kalmar "Swedish Pigeons", "Nice to Meet You", at Art Agenda Nova in Krakow. He also participated in many group exhibitions in Poland or abroad: "Critical Juncture" at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in India, "East + Europe - Eastern European Contemporary Art Exhibition" at the City Hall Exhibition Hall in Hong Kong, "Air de Pologne" at De Garage in Mechelen, Belgium. The artist was invited to the prestigious "Baltic Horizons" competition, which is, in addition to the sculpture competition, a broad platform for social and artistic dialogue with partners from the Baltic region.
A pre-war wooden floor cube from the premises of Oskar Schindler's former factory. The object was designed by Lukasz Surowiec as part of the author's project, related to the method of work organization proposed by Schindler. The material - a wooden cube - comes from the hall of the former factory, which, by enabling work, providing employment, saved Jews from the Holocaust. The artist thinks of the cube as a symbolic island saving the lives of survivors, where, in the case of the factory, the people being saved were, in a sense, the survivors of history. The artist tried to design a permanent object, sinking the cube in resin, as an artifact related to the issue of labor and memory.