2024
fountain, ceramics

Tosia Kiliś’s fountain is a water-based art object created as an homage to the frogs of Niedźwiednik pond. To increase the water level, the drying reservoir recently underwent restoration measures. Before this, however, the pond’s frog population had suffered a significant decline. As the frogs cross Góralska Street and to seek shelter in the woods, only to return to the pond once it is refilled, many are run over by cars. Local residents became involved in their protection, installing warning signs and providing emergency buckets to transport the amphibians. These grassroots social actions demonstrate that frogs are valued inhabitants of the estate.

The artist considers her fountain a kind of “summoner”. The splashing water, much like the croaking of frogs, intrigues and invites passers-by to engage and contemplate the shimmering pond surface. Binoculars mounted on trees around the reservoir will allow visitors to observe the amphibian fountain from a safe distance, without disturbing the frogs.

In Tosia Kiliś’s work, a smaller frog perches on the back of a larger one. This references Marek Targoński’s nearby concrete sculpture, located by the bus terminus on Góralska Street. This animal genre scene, created in 2010, depicts a female bear with her cub noticing a frog perched on her back. The artist thus highlights the need to extend our attention and care to the smallest creatures around us – often not very visible, but always significant.

TOSIA KILIŚ (b. 1992) is an artist and designer who completed her design studies at the School of Form in Poznań. In 2014, Kiliś co-founded Fenek Studio, which produces porcelain vessels and other objects. Beyond ceramics, her art encompasses various types of design, including small everyday objects, jewellery, textiles, furniture, interior design, sculptures, non-utilitarian objects, and clothing. Kiliś’s distinctive figures are a frequent motif in her work.