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Stories On The Walls
The latest mural from the canon of Tytus Brzozowski has cast a spotlight on one of Warsaw’s great inter-war characters, Stanisław Wojciechowski.
Found on Madalińskiego 6/8, and created using smog-eating, air-purifying paints, the mural was unveiled on the centenary of Wojciechowski assuming the Presidency following the assassination of Gabriel Narutowicz. Painted in Brzozowski’s surreal trademark style, the non-standard work sought to present the main chapters of the President’s life, as well as the addresses most commonly associated with him.
As such, fourteen places were picked to illustrate his lifepath, as well as the key moments that marked his public service.
“He was an extraordinary person with a very beautiful story,” says Brzozowski. “He was a man of great willpower and steadfast character; a conspirator and a super-agent smuggling weapons and printing machines into Poland; a strong leader defending the rule of law; and, finally, a committed lecturer.”
Beginning with his birthplace in Kalisz, the mural riffs on Wojciechowski’s time abroad by depicting the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and Zurich’s Grossmuenster church, whilst boxes of TNT have been placed to remember his time as an activist and exile resisting Russian rule.
His election to office, meanwhile, is noted by the inclusion of the Royal Castle – painted white by Brozowski to reflect the colors it once sported during the inter-bellum. Other notable moments include thwarting an assassination attempt in Lviv in 1924, and his confrontation with Józef Piłsudski on Poniatowski Bridge during the infamous May Coup of 1926.
As for his later life, we find Wojciechowski’s stint as an academic lecturer recalled by Brzozowski’s renderings of the University of Life Sciences as well as the Warsaw School of Economics.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, the Deputy Mayor of Mkotów, Krzysztof Skolimowski, said: “The mural is non-standard and educational. I hope that it becomes a place people seek out because I think it teaches a great history lesson and brings the epoch closer.”
