The aim of the installation "mosque" is to draw public attention to the changes that occurred for a few years in the Polish culture. Currently, due to the increasing level of wealth in Poland, our country is increasingly becoming a target of emigration. Just as we once rode west to Germany and France to live with dignity and make money, so now foreigners come to us for the same purpose. Statistics show that it is in the Mazowieckie voivodship that has the largest number of immigrants and attention is focused on Warsaw. There is quite a popular opinion that it is the newcomers from Muslim countries that have the largest problems of assimilation in Polish society. While they do not provide here the largest group of immigrants, they are the most recognizable in the structure of the city. The Warsawians passion Middle East for kitchen has fueled their presence. The most striking feature in the minds of the remaining ethnic Poles is the context of difference to the traditional Polish religion. Muslims, followers of Allah, Islamists these names are heavily saturated with emotional charge, especially due to the global events of the last decade. Opinions can be very hostile, and some of them, as can be read on various internet forums, even desire to agitate for the expulsion of immigrants of certain ethnic origin and a selection of those who have the right to apply for permanent or temporary residence in Poland. The installation "mosque" takes on a polemic against such social moods by giving old symbols a new character. Spreading 225 prayer rugs in urban areas changes the character of the place in a way that diametrically introduces new contexts in order to change the perception. A neutral or positive associated place gains a new element, which seems not to fit. Introducing prayer rugs in the urban space plays with viewer’s perception of the surrounding space. A rug is not a religious object (there is no danger of profanation), but nevertheless carries an enormous symbolic and emotional charge. The distribution of 225 such mats in the form of a rectangle turned to the south-east (the direction of Mecca) suggests the existence of an Islamic place of worship. This way I create a non-existent mosque for 10,000 Muslims living in the Mazowieckie voivodship. However, the emergence of a "mosque in the air" will take place only on a the symbolic level and will have no religious ties, because of the absence of true religious elements of the mosque (eg Mihrab). For the inhabitants of Warsaw, the carpets will be primarily a place of rest in the open air. Just like in real mosques in the intervals between church services carpeted floors are the perfect place for children to play. For Muslims, the mosque is primarily a meeting place of prayer and interaction. This way we pay attention to the fact that misunderstanding, hostility and fear towards visitors from the Islamic culture is caused by a incomprehensibility of symbols and difference.
The aim of the installation "mosque" is to draw public attention to the changes that occurred for a few years in the Polish culture. Currently, due to the increasing level of wealth in Poland, our country is increasingly becoming a target of emigration. Just as we once rode west to Germany and France to live with dignity and make money, so now foreigners come to us for the same purpose. Statistics show that it is in the Mazowieckie voivodship that has the largest number of immigrants and attention is focused on Warsaw. There is quite a popular opinion that it is the newcomers from Muslim countries that have the largest problems of assimilation in Polish society. While they do not provide here the largest group of immigrants, they are the most recognizable in the structure of the city. The Warsawians passion Middle East for kitchen has fueled their presence. The most striking feature in the minds of the remaining ethnic Poles is the context of difference to the traditional Polish religion. Muslims, followers of Allah, Islamists these names are heavily saturated with emotional charge, especially due to the global events of the last decade. Opinions can be very hostile, and some of them, as can be read on various internet forums, even desire to agitate for the expulsion of immigrants of certain ethnic origin and a selection of those who have the right to apply for permanent or temporary residence in Poland. The installation "mosque" takes on a polemic against such social moods by giving old symbols a new character. Spreading 225 prayer rugs in urban areas changes the character of the place in a way that diametrically introduces new contexts in order to change the perception. A neutral or positive associated place gains a new element, which seems not to fit. Introducing prayer rugs in the urban space plays with viewer’s perception of the surrounding space. A rug is not a religious object (there is no danger of profanation), but nevertheless carries an enormous symbolic and emotional charge. The distribution of 225 such mats in the form of a rectangle turned to the south-east (the direction of Mecca) suggests the existence of an Islamic place of worship. This way I create a non-existent mosque for 10,000 Muslims living in the Mazowieckie voivodship. However, the emergence of a "mosque in the air" will take place only on a the symbolic level and will have no religious ties, because of the absence of true religious elements of the mosque (eg Mihrab). For the inhabitants of Warsaw, the carpets will be primarily a place of rest in the open air. Just like in real mosques in the intervals between church services carpeted floors are the perfect place for children to play. For Muslims, the mosque is primarily a meeting place of prayer and interaction. This way we pay attention to the fact that misunderstanding, hostility and fear towards visitors from the Islamic culture is caused by a incomprehensibility of symbols and difference.