Aleksandra Polisiewicz WARTOPIA

Wartopia I is a virtual reconstuction of Warsaw based on Nazi plans, developed in the first years of Second World War and the socialistic projects of Stalin’s time. In this exhibition, Aleksandra Polisiewicz attempts to show in her interactive installation what Warsaw would have looked like, had these two totalitarian entities succeeded in creating their utopias in juxtaposition. On the one hand the German influence would have created a neat, ordered Warsaw, while the Soviet ideal was to create buildings of impressive size and architecture ( the Palace of Culture applies here) to overwhelm people. The title of this exhibition – Wartopia – is a combination of the two words: war from Warsaw and topia from utopia; Berlin – 518, Moscow – 1122 refers to Warsaw’s geographical and historical location of the city between two biggest metropolises of 20th century’s Eastern Europe.