2014
'Elbląg reconditus' is an innovative attempt to tell the story of City of Elbląg. The exhibition fits the trend of narrative presentations of history. A number of artistic means was used to arrange the exhibition; their aim is to lead the visitor along the substantive route with the artefacts and information about the town's history in the form of calendars on screens, as well as to evoke certain emotions, refer to the viewer's connotations (connected with his/her own ideas and knowledge of history as well as their personal experience and reflections on the passing of time) through the elements of scenery. The exhibition's important components are sound effects, remade fragments of compositions and dialogues which accompany the visitor; fragments of the poetic „Book” written on graphic boards.
The dominant scenery elements of the exhibition are ruins and the visiting route which meanders among them. The use of this motive and the general concept of the exhibition were explained in the preamble:
"The year 1945. The Soviet Army stands near Elbląg. The town, untouched by wars for seven hundred years, becomes damaged over two weeks of fierce defence and heavy attacks. Thousands of inhabitants are killed, the historic centre is turned into a pile of debris. The citizens who survived leave the town and exiles from different parts of the pre-war Poland replace them. The new inhabitants of Elbląg know nothing. The debris of the Old Town disappears, its levelled area is covered with greenery. A district is built in the place of the destroyed Medieval New Town. The new authorities try to remove the traces of the town's past.
However, history cannot be hidden in inaccessible archives, pushed underground. It emerges from the debris and grass, among the new buildings. Objects extracted from the ground come to life in the daylight telling their own stories of the ages of the town's greatness.
Elbląg Reconditus. Here the reclaimed history begins. The ruins start to glow with the remnants of smells and colours. They whisper with voices of the town's former inhabitants, they breathe the air of the forgotten streets."
Designed by Locus Solus Group
Concept and design of the exhibition: Michał Urban
Concept and design of the exhibition: Michał Urban
Graphic design, illustrations: Victor Soma
Text of the Book, sound design: Lea Pradziński
Client:
Muzeum Archeologiczno-Historyczne w Elblągu
(Museum of Archeology and History in Elbląg), 2014
Client:
Muzeum Archeologiczno-Historyczne w Elblągu
(Museum of Archeology and History in Elbląg), 2014
