I work in monumental painting in collaboration with Krzysztof Sokolovski (you can see our portfolio >here<). We create polychromies and arrangements of entire secular and sacral interiors. Below is a description and photographic documentation of one of our sacral realisations – the Chapel of Peace in the Salesian Sisters convent in Jerusalem. In turn, an example of a smaller realisation in a public interior is the mural in the Gallery Dom Praczki’s hall, which you can see >here<.
The Chapel of Peace in the Salesian Sisters convent in Jerusalem
This is a neosacral chapel: “a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7)
part of inaugural speech, 17.12.2017
The project consists of the polychrome of the chapel’s interior, the arrangement of lighting, and other elements of interior design.
Composition and significance were created according to the idea of neosacral art. Its prime purpose is aiding the spiritual growth of a human by devising for the sacrum a visual form, which would be congruous with times of its creation.
The basis of the composition and thought of the polychrome is the biblical quote: “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places” (Revelation 6:14) and reflection on the song of the Seraphims, which reads: “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Isaiah 6:3) and is called Trisagion.
Based on the idea of one of the pioneers of abstract art, Wassily Kandinsky, which speaks of a strong relationship of visual arts with music, the melody of the Trisagion can be shown by the use of visual forms. Therefore, the Chapel of Peace should be perceived as we usually perceive a melody. We do not have to (and even should not) concentrate on identifying each note in order to be able to deeply feel the influence of the whole piece of work.
Close behind the entrance, on the vault, we can see the monogram of the word “Sanctus” – the first praising of the Divine majesty. Behind it, our universe spreads, full of stars and mountain landscapes. However, this universe is transformed. We cannot see the familiar sky, constellations are scattered. The vault pulsates with the brightness of the stars, however, it cannot brighten the dark mountains on the horizon. A dark circle rises among the stars – the planet Earth – and the light of salvation falls on it. Perhaps the new sky looks like that after the scroll of the old firmament is rolled up, as described in the Apocalypse (Revelation 6:14).
Behind the entire universe, behind things, which we can explore and touch, we can see the second praising of God – monogram of the word “Sanctus” in the middle of the line between the aisle and the presbyterium. In that place, the sphere of faith starts to extend and the empirical world ends. Only thought and reason remain. We can strictly see symbols of what is invisible, unrepresentable, unimaginable, which was marked by gold, in respect of Byzantine tradition. Our universe is no longer there – every star, planet, particle is individually surrounded by this, which we tirelessly try to cognise. That place is a reflection of all the temples on the Earth. It calls us to come and try to encounter spiritual experience.
Finally, there is the third “Sanctus”. And behind it we can see only brightness…
In Christian tradition, the way leading to that brightness is faith in the Holy Trinity. Thus in the middle of the composition, we placed the tabernacle symbolising the place of holding the body of Jesus Christ. Above a circle rises, the perfect shape symbolising the infinity of God the Father. Everything is crowned with a point of light symbolising the Holy Spirit.
The project was created and accomplished in 2017.