2025
installation

The complex history of Gdańsk is reflected in countless symbols of freedom, solidarity and courage, as well as places where the memory of suffering, loss and powerlessness still lingers. The heroism for which the city is known has a human face. Shipyard workers, activists and labourers, often celebrated as ‘heroes’, were individuals who carried immense psychological, social and familial burdens. Their heroism was not a pursuit of glory, but often a response to helplessness and violence.

It is these experiences that underlie The Weight of Wings. Shipyard cranes, positioned in pairs facing one another, form the silhouettes of angels with outstretched wings. Here, the angel is understood not as a religious figure, but as a mythic guardian – a mediator between suffering and memory. An angel does not necessarily ‘save’; it may instead act as witness, silent companion or confidant to trauma. The cranes, as symbolic ‘memory cranes’, carry stories that have never been fully told, yet accompany each of us throughout our lives. They stand as quiet companions to individual human suffering: a presence offering no relief or answers, but holding space for silence, listening and shared presence.

Although the installation is not located directly within Aniołki, its significance resonates deeply with the district. We view the work from Steffens Park, where the Church and Hospital of All God’s Angels – the origin of the neighbourhood’s present-day name – stood from the fourteenth to the early nineteenth century. Though the church exists only in memory today, its symbolic presence remains palpable.

MATEUSZ GZOWSKI is an architect and resident of the Aniołki district of Gdańsk. He graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Gdańsk University of Technology and has gained professional experience in studios in Poland and abroad. Gzowski runs a prize-winning independent architectural practice. His work focuses on historic buildings as well as new developments embedded within historical contexts. He is interested in the multilayered and interdisciplinary nature of the projects he creates, guided by the principles of coherence, moderation and cultural rootedness.