Norbert Delman

MONUMENT TO A PHYSIOTHERAPIST

sculpture / 2017
Zdrojowa Street

 

Norbert Delman calls for the replacement of monuments erected to commemorate heroes and momentous historical events with statues celebrating everyday life, not overloaded with symbols and, above all, removed from political power.

Brzeźno’s glowing past as a spa town, with its villas and important guests, has never been forgotten, but the artist reaches for a simple, ordinary story: he creates a monument to the Physiotherapist, the contemporary Bathing Supervisor, who once looked after the wellbeing of patients of Brzeźno’s spa house. Delman places his sculpture in the central point of the former spa town, on Zdrojowa Street, right next to the former bathing buildings. The promenade, which used to culminate with a pier of over 200 m, now leads straight to the beach.

In his art, Norbert Delman, himself a former athlete, often refers to the cult of the body, sporting ambition and competition, at the same time admiring the determination and systematic nature of competitors, whose everyday efforts gradually bring them closer to their dream goal. Yet the person he puts on a pedestal is the physiotherapist, a figure of seemingly secondary importance, whose work he equates with the everyday struggle of sporting heroes. Maybe he even values it more, as the dedication and perseverance of the anonymous physiotherapist are devoid of the splendour of victory available to athletes.

 

Norbert Delman (b. 1989)

is a sculptor, performer, author of video works, installations and prints as well as curator of exhibitions and cooperation-based projects. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (Studio of Spatial Activities headed by Mirosław Bałka). In 2012 he studied at University College Falmouth (UK). Since 2016, he has co-authored the Stroboskop Art Space in Warsaw. Delman holds scholarships from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and a number of international art programmes. His works have been presented in Poland and abroad. He lives and works in Warsaw.

 

« Back

Narracje 9

Narracje 9