Artist Julita Wójcik's "The Rainbow" is one of three public space installations in the Belgian capital organised as part of the Fossils and Gardens project
The idea behind Fossils and Gardens is to create separate narratives which all ultimately relate to the notion of a united Europe and draw on common traditions.
Julita Wójcik's "The Rainbow" will fill the Esplanade of the European Parliament. The project was initiated in late July in the Polish seaside resort of Sopot as part of the "Sopot Makes Art for The City of Brussels". In this interactive public installation multi-hued array of flowers bring to life Julita Wojcik's concept of "The Rainbow" - which travels to the European Parliament in Brussels later this year.
Over the one week in July Julita Wojcik, together with volunteers from various professions - labourers, florists, doctors, artists - worked shoulder to shoulder to create components for the piece. Fifteen thousand artificial flowers are to be mounted onto a metal wire to create a colourful rainbow. Each day of the week was designated for a different colour of the rainbow. The 26th of July - red flowers, the 27th July - orange flowers, the 28th July - yellow flowers, the 29th July - green flowers, the 30th July - blue flowers, the 31st July - purple flowers.
The second installment of the project traveled to the south of Poland in late August. "The Rainbow" project was reprised in the town of Wilamowice, Oświęcim (known to most of the rest of the world as Auschwitz). The town's residents took part in the project, along with visitors from the Baltic coast and Austria. In a single day, the rainbow was created, using some 6,000 to decorate the rainbow that is to embellish the Belgian capital in mid-September. Volunteers continue to work on the project, adding up to 5,000 more blossoms to the fixture up through the 3rd of September, led by curator Monika Szewczyk.
Julita Wójcik was born in 1971 in Gdańsk - a performer, author of art interventions and diving enthusiast. She lives and works in Gdańsk. In the years 1991-1997 studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, Faculty of Sculpture. By incorporating everyday activities in her projects she questions the boundaries between the spheres of life and art. She said, "I am honored to return to Sopot after 11 years from 'Dream Of Provincial Girl' to live in it again for a while". "The Dream of a Provincial Girl" (2000) - an international artists' project (series of 3 exhibitions), which she co-curated with Paulina Olowska in a private apartment in Sopot, Poland, featuring artists from Estonia, Lithuania, Scotland, and Poland.
This event is both part of Attention Culture! and I, Culture - the national and international Cultural Programmes of the 2011 Polish EU Presidency.
Date: 24th of September - 2nd of December, 2011
Venues: City of Sopot, Town of Wilamowice, City of Brussels
Organisers: Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Polish Cultural Institute in Berlin
Source: press materials
See more on all three projects within Fossils and Gardens
See video of the artist detailing the Rainbow project...