DOMINIKA OLSZOWY: SAND FOUNTAIN

The Sand Fountain is the latest sculpture intervention from Dominika Olszowy, commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw and addressing the rapid transformation of downtown Warsaw, including the radical changes taking place on Central Square, where MSN is located.

 

Olszowy was drawn to the eponymous fountain as a cultural construct and symbol of vitality, rather than as a technological structure. A standard feature of any elegant public space, in times of climate change and increasingly frequent heat waves the fountain becomes more than mere decoration. In cities, fountains offer cooling and relief, but they also remind us that water—its constant availability—is not to be taken for granted. Consequently, the form associated with abundance of water comes to symbolize its scarcity. From this paradox, the artist’s concept emerged.

 

The sculpture takes the unmistakable shape of a stream of water rising up in the air, only arrested here as it’s reaching its climax: thickened, rigidified, and transformed surreally into sand. The dynamic flow of water translates to a static composition. The artist’s idiom speaks through the piece—Olszowy is known for her oxymoronic combinations of artistic mediums and has a deep affection for such materials and items that are mostly overlooked or ignored. In this project she used sand mixed with shells, among other things. As a result, monumental scale meets fineness of sculpted detail.

 

Erecting a monument to the fountain, the artist does not intend it as a tribute in the traditional sense. Rather, she reflects on the function that fountains serve in the real world, where both water and sand—the latter seemingly available everywhere—are resources subject to intensive use. Increased rates of sand mining affect ecosystems and shorelines, causing entire beaches and islands to disappear. Combining water and earth, Olszowy does not simply embark on an experiment in materials; she actually invents a symbolic language through which to speak about the world, about how fragile it is, how impermanent and beautiful in ways not quite expected. Her sculpture hints at child’s play of building castles out of wet sand, and at concrete, too—the material that made cities what they are today, one whose production relies on mineral resources. The artist said: “I wanted to combine the two, water and sand, into one sculpted form: a fountain made from wet sand. The resulting sculpture appears brittle, precarious, ephemeral, and precisely that makes the piece so relevant. I want it to be a structure that resembles a fountain, not exactly spraying water but rather displaying a memory of it. A fountain made of the material that built our world and is now slowly disappearing from it.” What is typically modest, or intimate, acquires a monumental dimension. In this way the artist subverts the official narratives in sculpture for public space. Instead of firmness, solemnity, and heroism she proposes fragility of form. Instead of commemoration of a distinguished individual or an exceptional historic event—a monument to a natural phenomenon, to a material, to an element. Instead of imposing a landmark, a new symbol for this particular part of town, she listens to the rhythm of changes it undergoes, to then play along.

 

Olszowy’s monument to the fountain celebrates impermanence while attempting to capture that fleeting state and freeze it in time. A fountain made of sand pays homage to depleted ecological assets as it embodies the tensions at work between nature, urbanization, and passing or fading. It is in fact a monument to that which keeps changing—and which, for that very reason, calls for particular attention today.

 

Temporarily erected on the terrace, or the observation deck, MSN’s formally fluid and frivolous “fountain” contrasts with the monumental, right-angled architecture of the Museum. Stretching beyond, towards the city, it transcends that building’s and institution’s infrastructural framing. When looked at from its pedestal—that is, the seat of the Museum itself—it points to the Polish capital’s dynamic growth using up water and sand resources to progress. The fountain makes an appearance in this space by surprise, bursting from the floor inexplicably and so referencing the ubiquitous entropy, tongue in cheek.

 

Dominika Olszowy’s Sand Fountain follows an invited competition organized by the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw in order to spark discussion around the representation of art in the very center of Warsaw—in a symbolic space where most diverse viewpoints come together and collide, belonging to the capital’s citizens as well as visitors. The selected entry was found to engage with those considerations especially well. In it, a strong artistic concept combined with a deep understanding of the location and its character. The project is both communicative and open to interpretation: witty and appealing at once, the form is direct in the way it addresses viewers, thus able to make a point even when there’s no prior expert knowledge of the subject involved; at the same time, the sculpture intentionally deals with how urbanization, permanence, and decay are entangled, which provokes a multifaceted reflection on modern times. In the competition, what set the Sand Fountain apart was its coherence as well as informed use of conditions on site without compromising the work’s universality. Hence the idea to choose the space of Central Square, with its pool, as the final location for the piece. It will be there, surrounded by water (or by the possible lack of it), that the sculpture by Dominika Olszowy will physically become part of the city’s life going forward.