Pegasus

@. Pl. Krasinskich 3/5
artist. Beata and Pawel Konarscy
finished. 2008

The work by Beata and Paweł Konarski deals with urban identity, they are reacting to a perceived overabundance of memory. The husband and wife team created a sculptural installation in front of a branch of the national library that houses its oldest and most valuable collections. The sculpture consists of five over-sized, primary-colored pegasi that look like a 3-D version of a child’s drawing. The installation was inspired by an exhibit inside the library devoted to the poetry of Zbigniew Herbert, whose work frequently referenced mythology. While this forms part of the context of the sculpture, it is also necessary to look across the street to the memorial of the Warsaw Uprising. It is a striking contrast; the somber figures bravely fighting against unbeatable odds are opposite a green field, a pasture with colorful and airy mythological creatures. It is hard to imagine that the contrast was not a conscious choice by the artists. The pegasi were installed in the summer of 2008 and are still on site despite the fact that the Herbert exhibit is gone. They have created a necessary counter balance to the bleak memorial.