Streets: Lukasz Berger aka Cekas (Lodz, Poland)

Lukasz Berger aka CekasOne was recently invited by Lodz Murals to add his contribution to their impressive collection of public installations and murals around the city. After following after works by such world renowned artists such as Os Gemeos, Aryz, Dal East, Alexis Diaz, Borondo and many more, the Polish artist took a fresh, completely different approach to creating his piece. Instead of choosing from a selection of available walls, Berger had a firm concept and the form of the wall he was looking for. The task was that much harder for the project’s curator, Michal Biezynski, seeing that the wall had to face south with the surface needing to be totally flat without any windows with the surrounding area with no shadows. These specifications were because the Wroclaw-based artist wasn't going to paint on it, but instead drill and fix metal bars into the wall creating a permanent sculptural installation. This project is part of his recent efforts to experiment with graffiti, mural making, sculpture and installation, with the final result being an impressive 1300 metal bars made of stainless steel weighing more than 500kg and fixed directly to the wall (arranged by size from 3 cm to 60 cm). Spelling cisza (silence), this installation plays with the light and the sunbeams, changing its appearance with the angle that the sun shines on it during different times of the day or the year, and even works at night with the light of the moon. Conceptually it comments on the relationship between people and the urban environment. Though loud and noisy, these environments can feel very silent and lonely for an individual, and this silence often feels like a heavy burden which is represented by massive iron bars. Photo credit: Maciej Stempij.