"Cities are made up of countless layers. Some of these layers are easily recognizable, while others remain hidden and require a certain perspective or history to become visible," says Malgorzata Maria Olchowska, who led a 4-day workshop for those studying at School of Form. Their goal was to draw attention to the architectural details of Warsaw and create their own visual narrative about them. In this way, those studying could not only exercise their sensitivity to urban spaces, but also their technical skills.
On the first day of the workshop, participants went into the field, moving around Warsaw and documenting what fascinated them most about urban architecture: details, shapes, textures and contrasts. In this way, study material was collected in the form of drawings.
During the workshop we will accept (and look for) coincidences. Coincidental events that will take place on paper will influence our perception of Warsaw
- announced Malgorzata Maria Olchowska.
The workshop 'Under the Surface. Architectural narratives of the city of Warsaw'
photo: Milena Grabarczyk
Forms, shapes and lines hidden in the architecture of the city
In the next stage, the participants transferred selected elements of their drawings onto silkscreen matrices. The task was to create new compositions by reinterpreting earlier sketches and deciding which fragments were worth keeping and how to arrange them in a new context.
At the screen-printing stage, the students combined two drawings created by different people into one poster. This resulted in unique constellations, presenting new confrontations and juxtapositions of forms, shapes, lines and colors.
poster and zine
proj.: Amelia Konieczna
poster and zine
proj.: Aleksandra Szulc
The projects created in this way became the basis for authorial publications in the form of zines. Each poster from A3 format folded to A6 format became a new art form, which, thanks to the unplanned framing of the image, allowed us to see further compositions and details hidden in the structure of the drawings. As Malgorzata Maria Olchowska explains, "Just like a city that is composed of many unplanned, contiguous structures and architectural elements, the zines became a collage of chance encounters."
observation and freedom in design
Through the "Beneath the Surface" workshop, those studying had the opportunity to learn not only new artistic techniques, but also a working method called "thinking through making" ("thinking by doing"). This method comes from British anthropologist Tim Ingold, and involves rejecting planning the next steps of the work in favor of careful observation, freedom and openness to chance and collaboration.
poster and zine
proj.: Kacper Babik
poster and zine
proj.: Milena Grabarczyk
What at first glance may seem "unsuccessful," in the right context or juxtaposition can gain new life. Transferring drawings between media - from paper to screen, from drawing to publication - creates space for reflection and distance from one's own work. The workshop was an invitation to experiment, to create boldly without fear of error, and to look at one's work from different perspectives
- Olchowska adds.
Documentation of the final results of the workshop can be seen in the article's gallery. The workshop was realized with the School of Form Screen Printing Studio, under the direction of Marta Kwiatek, with assistance from Esther Ant.
