Weapon_of_choice | Bartosz Janczak

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“Weapon of choice”
for Ar/t/chitecture Festival
Tainan / Taiwan

My sculpture as part of a sculpture park situated on an island in Tainan >>

My sculpture from steel, which I placed on Yuguang Dao Island - part of Anping district in Tainan, Taiwan for the Ar/t/chitecture Art Festival, which I also curated.  The object was inspired by aggressive military defense structures and brutalist architecture.

The name came from an encounter with a passer-by - a New York-born artist, living in Tainan for 16 years - who stopped for a chat, while I was working on my sculpture.

As I was telling him about the concept behind my form, he mentioned a Pablo Picasso’s quote, which says “Art is a weapon of choice”.

The name fit perfectly the overall feel of my piece, through which I wanted to remind, that the most dangerous aren’t weapons nor bullets.

The most dangerous are ideas that influence the masses. Interesting to know, the island on which I placed my sculpture used to be a Japanese military base, in the times when Taiwan was under occupation.

Also, the color white resembles death in Chinese culture. “Weapon of choice” is part of a small sculpture park we set up during the festival.

While folding my new sculpture. Work in progress. Some of the heavy metal work was done during the evening with an angle grinder.

Very exciting moment installing my sculpture with the biggest truck/crane I've ever seen. Plenty of emotions, not the easiest task, especially when you don't speak any Mandarin, but it worked. After that, painting in white and varnishing.

For dessert, an ultimate treat. To learn about how the organization of the festival looked like, what relationships were formed between the homeowners and the artists, the difficulties associated with the language and culture barrier, and finally about the results of their work, watch the documentary by Kuba Goździewicz, who documented this art meeting for the entire month within both the urban spaces and nearby villages. Enjoy!

If you would like to get some more information about my sculpture, the festival, or are interested in my projects, or perhaps you would like to cooperate with me, don't hesitate to get in touch by pressing the button below.

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