The Witch of Chwaliszewo is a sculpture created by Alicja Biała in 2024. The monument has a mirrored shell and a form resembling the silhouette of a woman. An ongoing public consultation is to help determine where the monument should stand, what inscription should appear on the information board and how to organise its unveiling.
The aim of the consultation is to gather opinions on the aesthetics and symbolism of the monument, its location in the urban space and proposals concerning the information content and the form of the unveiling ceremony. The opinions of the inhabitants will be submitted to the Monument Erection Team at Poznań City Hall.
The Witch’s monument is not liked by all residents. Some Poznań politicians are critical of the erection of the witch statue. However, the monument is not a coincidence, but a reminder of a historic event.
Alicja Biała created the sculpture, which has a female silhouette and a height of 166 cm, which is the average height of a woman in Poland. The sculpture was made of steel and partially acid-etched. The polished surface gives the sculpture a mirror-like surface so that one can see into it.
The target location of the statue is not yet known, the first plans are that it will stand on a plot in the Old Warta riverbed park in Chwaliszewo, Poznań. It was there, in 1511, that one of the first documented witchcraft trials took place, in which a woman was accused of poisoning the water used to make beer. The accused was sentenced to death by burning at the stake.
The idea to commemorate this woman was initiated by Ewa Łowżył, a Poznań-based artist and activist, for whom the witch’s story is not only a tale of tragic events from long ago, but also a tale of fear of the unknown and of the social mechanisms that make a woman a victim. The memorial is intended by the activist to commemorate not only the witch, but also other women experiencing violence.
This woman was not only a victim of phantasmagoria, but also of the cruelty of her neighbours, who together set up the pyre. This is a story about how easy it is to arouse the attraction to cruelty in ordinary, everyday decent people. How fear of the unknown infects society, how easy it is to make a woman into a victim, ” said Ewa Łowżył at the 2024 Malta Festival.
For me, this project provided an opportunity to explore our collective history and its impact on contemporary perceptions of women. The Witch of Chwaliszewa is a symbol of both harm and power. In my work, I tried to capture this duality to remind us of the power that women have carried and continue to carry through the centuries, despite adversity,” explains Alicja Biała.
An information meeting with elements of debate will be organised on Tuesday, 6 May between 5:30 and 7:30 pm at the New Gasworks Pavilion and in the Old Warta Corridor Park. During it, residents will be able to learn about the proposed form of the monument, talk to the initiators of the project and to activists and experts connected with feminist organisations operating in our city.
source: UM Poznań
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