Piotr Zamojski
I Care Not About the Stars When the Sun Is Shining | fluorescent inscription, 2018
This phrase appears in a book published in Vilnius in 1831, whose title may be translated to Excerpts from works of brilliant Polish writers compiled for district schools. The publication quotes numerous sayings and adages, attributing them to various men of letters. According to information provided in the Excerpts…, the author of the I care not about the stars… sentence was Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro, a seventeenth-century Polish nobleman. Owing to his literary activity and predilection for political, economic and military subjects, Fredro was sometimes called the Polish Tacitus. It is not by chance that Piotr Zamojski decided to paint this particular sentence on the dilapidated wall around the parking lot on Inwalidów Wojennych Square (square dedicated to war-disabled persons). Forever occupied by drivers looking for a space to park their cars, this is currently one of the more run down places in Oliwa. While it could seem that its name, which refers to persons that rendered particular services to the struggle for independence, is a commitment of sorts, neither its appearance nor function are particularly awe-inspiring. Most war-disabled persons are already dead, and one may assume that they do not care much about stars on epaulettes. Yet from time to time one ought stop here to reminisce about their sacrifice.
location: low wall on Inwalidów Wojennych Square
Piotr Zamojski (b. 1963) is a visual artist who combines elements of painting, sculpture and typography in his practice, sometimes also employing photography, film and sound. His works are evocative and responsive, created as a reaction to pre-existing realities. He is interested in the relationship between space, time and word. Most of his works evolve while they are exhibited, some are ephemeral. Zamojski studied in Gdańsk, Munich, Düsseldorf and Bochum; he lectured in Seoul, among other places. He lives in Düsseldorf and Marseille.
