Installation view of the project
The name of our gallery is "WYSPA" which means "an island" in Polish. The Granary Island in Gdansk in a special place in the center of a city, an island on the river, with the ruins of granaries, an area containing may cultural strata -- a living witness to the history of Gdansk. For many ages, it was an active center of trade and cultural exchange between many, especially the Baltic, countries. Since 1987 it has been the site of our activity, and of numerous site-specific -- spectacular shows of independent art. It is important to note that in the 80's it was the sole place for alternative art, outside undesirable political context.
With time, the idea of the open-air gallery developed into realizations in public space, causing public discussions about the new social role of the artist. I mean this in the context of new social and civic responsibilities of artists. I feel certain that the atmosphere of a place, its history, its appearance, etc., for the artist can only be a pretext to develop his/her own original ideas. And it should not be a lonely activity directed only to the place.
A week ago I stood at the top of a tower, at the Archaeological Museum of Gdansk. I looked at the Motlawa River, the Granary Island, buildings, the roofs of the Old Town, and the many towers around. I heard the sounds of my town, the tolling bells and the chimes of clocks. I thought about a new perspective opened up by the view from the tower. And I think that the view from this tower should always be a discovery.
The tradition of site-specific art is a modernist one, related to activities addressed to limited groups of people and to places which the public finds difficult to access. However, the idea of such places as ours should break off this isolation. We must not yield to the temptations of escapism; we should make the place open both for the critics and the public. We should liberate ourselves form the idea of "an ivory tower."
The dictionary of symbols offers several definitions of a tower. One of them is "power" and "reaching above the average level"; another is "philosophical reflection." I wish for you that this symbolic significance be realized.
The third meaning is the image of a man. And here lies my point of reference to Saku's exhibition. In his art, he tries to show our ignorance in the human anatomy. For most of us, everything we have under our skin is unknown and mysterious. Saku Paasilahti wants to express his feelings about this "blank area" or "terra incognita." In his art, he looks for a correspondence between various biomorphic structures. If we accept a Chinese saying that "We are what we eat," then Saku, with his parallel forms, fills up the empty spots in our imagination.
Coming back to the tower, as a symbol of human being, we may say that Saku's photographs found here the best possible place, turning into a site-specific installation.