ZŁOTY, 2015

Commissioned by The Instytucja Kultury Katowice, in Katowice Poland, ‘ZŁOTY’ (2015) was a site specific architectural intervention created directly onto an abandoned residential building in the Załęże district, and reflects on the aspirations of the former residents and the region’s history of gradual decline following the collapse of the local mining industry.

Created in collaboration with the Instytucja Kultury Katowice, festival organisers and the Katowice Historical Museum the work was created through the direct application of over 600 meters of golden wallpaper onto the surface of the former residential building. This design of golden wallpaper commonly decorated the interior of homes in the Załęże district. The title of the work, ZŁOTY is the name of the Polish currency, but also literally translates to the English ‘gold’, referencing the golden wallpaper used in this intervention and notions of value, both economic and structural. The work was left installed for 11-months, with the slow deterioration of the wallpaper, exposed to the elements, forming a central part of the work.

ZŁOTY was on view in Katowice, Poland from May 2015 to December 2015. It was commissioned by Instytucja Kultury Katowice curator Michał Kubieniec. In 2017, photographic documentation and artefacts from the project were first exhibited alongside works by Jeppe Hein, Rebecca Baumann and Marita Fraser at Moore Contemporary’s Project 1.