Mural with Marek Hłasko on a modernist townhouse in Żoliborz

A mural has appeared on the wall of a tenement house on Krasińskiego and Felińskiego streets, near Wilson Square. Its protagonist is Marek Hłasko, writer and film scriptwriter, author of such works as Eighth Day of the Week, Palcie ryż każdego dnia, Pierwszy krok w chmurach. The mural with Marek Hłasko is part of this year’s celebration of his work.

Marek Hłasko was born in Warsaw in 1934 and died in Wiesbaden in 1969. The mural occupies an entire wall of a four-storey building. The image of the writer was based on a photograph taken of him a few years before his death. Maintained in shades of grey, the mural depicts a figure who appears to be leaning against the wall of the building, with a typewritten sheet with the titles of his works under his feet. The writer’s name is written in the upper corner.

The mural was created on the initiative of the Marek Hłasko Memorial Foundation. In the left corner, a commemorative plaque with selected facts from his life has been placed on the wall.

The mural with Marek Hłasko was created as an alternative to a monument. Janusz Dorosiewicz, one of the founders of the Marek Hłasko Memorial Foundation, admits that this form of commemoration is intended to appeal to the younger generation. The mural is easily visible from the level of the exit to the Plac Wilsona underground station. The Foundation plans to create a comic book based on the writer’s work in the future.

In the summer of 2023. The Sejm passed a resolution to establish 2024 as the year of Marek Hłasko. He justified the decision: “[…] he was able to imbue banal motifs and themes taken from everyday life with profound existential content”. The mural is therefore part of the celebrations of this year.

photos: Maciej Stacherski

Read also: Murals | Tenement | Elevation | Warsaw | whiteMAD on Instagram

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