Seemingly they are meaningless. Rejected, haphazard, degraded. But in the artist’s eyes they become something more – a matter of transformation. Juliusz Sokołowski’s exhibition Afterimages, which has just opened in the Gothic chapel of the Teutonic Castle in Świecie, shows how art can restore meaning to things excluded from circulation. It is a kind of visual recycling, in which a useless object gains a new life.
Juliusz Sokołowski, known primarily as an architectural photographer, opens a completely new chapter in his work in Powidoki. Consisting of thirteen works, the exhibition is not a documentation, but a kind of meditation. It is a story about light, form and visual tension, constructed from matter that had previously been considered worthless. The artist uses fragments of plastic, metal and glass – found, damaged and random things – transforming them into photographs full of light, colour and structure.
“These are works created from objects that have fallen out of circulation. The light that passes through them or reflects off them brings out non-obvious meanings and gives them a new context,” – Sokolowski says. “I am close to the philosophy of Tadeusz Kantor, who introduced discarded and worn-out things into his art. In his theatre they became carriers of emotion and memory. With me, these objects function in photography, but, as with Kantor, they regain their voice and symbolic meaning.”
The exhibition consists of twelve static compositions and one monumental animation. This structure is not accidental – it refers to the historical organisation of the Teutonic convent. The monastic community in Swiecie consisted of twelve brother knights and a komtur – their leader. The artist alludes to this architecture of relationships and power, arranging his works in a new visual order, in which each work acts as an independent figure – and at the same time is part of a larger, geometric whole. The exhibition re-reads this symbolism, taking it to the level of light, form and spiritual presence.
The Gothic castle chapel is not just a backdrop here – it becomes an integral part of the exhibition. As curator Michal Grocki emphasises, the castle does not need silence, but a voice. It is art that can bring out its potential – give it meaning, a new function and restore it to the contemporary imagination as a place of living culture.
Afterimages as trace and transformation
In Sokolowski’s interpretation, the concept of the afterimage deviates from its classical understanding. It is not the afterimage that Władysław Strzemiński wrote about as a glow that remains after a luminous stimulus. Sokolowski is not interested in the mechanics of vision or optical phenomena analysed in the spirit of avant-garde theory of perception. His approach is more material and documentary in nature. The afterimage becomes a metaphor for a cultural trace, a sign of a presence that is no longer present, a remnant of a function that has lost its meaning.
In this approach, Sokolowski’s art becomes a form of symbolic recycling. He transforms discarded objects into aesthetic compositions, restoring their presence and meaning. He gives them a new meaning and allows them to re-emerge as carriers of emotion, memory and visual narrative.
The aesthetics of these works combine reflexivity with an extensive network of references. One can see inspiration in them from the work of Hiroshi Sugimoto and Thomas Ruff, artists who operate with the tension between record and illusion. Sokołowski also draws on the language of classical op-art, alluding to the rhythmic structures and optical dynamics known from the works of Wojciech Fangor, Bridget Riley or Victor Vasarely, among others.
Art in the castle space
Situated at the mouth of the Vistula River, the Gothic castle in Swiecie – built by the Teutonic Order at a strategic point in the Lower Vistula Valley – has dominated the landscape and history of the region for centuries. Today, although it still remains one of the city’s main tourist attractions, it is increasingly shaping a new role: as a space for culture, reflection and contemporary artistic interventions.
Juliusz Sokolowski’s exhibition Powidoki symbolically opens this new chapter. The castle – absent from the cultural circuit for decades – is undergoing intensive revitalisation. Surrounded by a landscape under NATURA 2000 protection, with views stretching as far as Chełmno and Grudziądz, it is now becoming a point of intersection between tradition and new creative energy.
– We want to show that venues for ambitious art do not have to be limited to the largest cities,” says Monika Tom, director of the Cultural Centre in Świecie. – It is precisely in non-obvious locations, such as the medieval castle by the Vistula River, that art can sound to the fullest. Without the pressure of the centre, closer to the source – where history and modernity can really meet.
The exhibition can be seen until 5 October 2025.
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Don’t let the editor’s profile picture fool you. No one has hacked our website! The LEGO brand encouraged us to celebrate Children’s Day in a unique way. We changed the profile pictures of our editors, taking us back to the blissful time of childhood 😊. The cursor in the desktop version, which turned into a LEGO block for a few days, is also a variety. This version of the website will accompany us until 1 June. This year, on the occasion of Children’s Day, the LEGO brand prepared a special action with the Slowhop platform, as part of which it filled 21 houses across Poland with LEGO bricks sets and gave those willing to participate the opportunity to spend a weekend of creative play in them. We wrote more about this action HERE and HERE.
PS and if you are looking for ideas for a LEGO set for creative play then check out our suggestions HERE. These are good gift ideas, not just for Children’s Day!
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source: press materials
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