The unveiling of the mural coincided with the inauguration of the construction of the Poland Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. The mural was designed by artist Aleksandra Czudżak, and its theme is the slogan of the Polish Pavilion – ‘Heritage that drives the future’. The Polish mural is intended to encourage Osaka residents to visit the pavilion and highlights the ties between Poland and Japan.
Poland is famous for its murals. We have written about such large-format works of art many times before; articles about the most beautiful can be found HERE. In Japan, the issue of murals looks different. Such paintings are not so popular there.
The creation of the Polish mural was supported by the Wall Share inc. group, which operates in the Konohana district. The group finds walls of buildings that can be painted over and invites artists from all over the world to paint their own designs on them.
The creation of the mural in this part of the city is no coincidence. Konohana is Osaka’s bustling harbour district. It is located near Yumeshima Island, the site of next year’s World Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. The Polish mural measures 8 metres by 10 metres and can be easily spotted from both street level and the Hanshin Namba railway line – the exact location is 2 Chome-18-8 Asahi, Konohana Ward.
The mural is decorated with a motif of a girl with flowers in her hair, who sets in motion a windmill held in her hands. This is a reference to the shape of the Polish Pavilion viewed from above. The flow of the girl’s breath is arranged in a stave, which is meant to evoke the motif of music. The design is meant to evoke positive childhood memories and at the same time show what experiences await visitors at the Poland Pavilion. The author of the work is Aleksandra Czudżak, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. The artist designs murals, posters and illustrations for books and magazines. Her work is dominated by motifs of nature, animals and Polish folklore.
I am very interested in folk art, it was a kind of starting point for me. A lot of concepts were created during the design process, where I was inspired by cut-outs, folk costumes or Polish legends. The second great inspiration was our Polish nature. The final design of the mural includes elements that I associate with the Polish summer. Cornflowers, poppies, golden fields and swallows. For the people of Osaka, I would like my mural to be an intriguing point on the map of the Konohana district. I also want it to motivate people to learn more about Polish culture,” says Aleksandra Czudżak.
At the same time, the construction of a Polish pavilion was inaugurated. The ceremony took place on 8 August on Yumeshima Island. A plot of land was then handed over and a symbolic shovel was driven in. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the organising team at the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, headed by Deputy Minister of Development and Technology Jacek Tomczak – Commissioner General of the Polish Section of the World Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, representatives of the Organiser – Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, the General Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland, as well as representatives of the Polish Embassy in Tokyo and companies responsible for the construction of the Polish Pavilion.
The Polish Pavilion at Expo 2025 was designed by Alicja Kubicka and Borja Martínez of Interplay Architects. We recently published an interview with the architects, who told us about the project and provided final visualisations of the building. You can find the interview with the visualisations HERE.
The Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) is responsible for the project of Poland’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. (PAIH), with the Ministry of Development and Technology as the supervising institution.
source: press materials
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