Civitas

Jacek Jerzy Kolasinski’s installations are rooted in the experience of growing up in two worlds: the “Old World” of Krakow, Poland, and the “New World” of the United States. The search for identity in the vortex of cultural displacement surfaces often in his work. Civitas is a small-scale re-creation of a medieval town destroyed by fire. It serves as a parable describing the devaluation of various social institutions like religion and family. The dilapidated buildings are emblematic of urban decline. The projected images are captured, transmitted, and transformed by a small video camera situated in the center of the installation. This imagery gives the impression of an anonymous explorer documenting the ruins in the heart of an unnamed village devastated by some unknown disaster.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website