Abandoned Hotel Covered in Mirrored Mosaics

Joanna Rajkowska covered the walls of buildings in one of Łódź’s courtyards with small pieces of mirrors. The project was realized as part of the 2014 Dialogue of Four Cultures Festival.

This installation is one of the most spectacular public art projects in Łódź – involved in its production were the city’s inhabitants and students of the local Academy of Fine Arts. The mirror mosaic covering the buildings’ walls generates an impressive visual effect that transforms its surrounding.

The reflected fragments of the surrounding and of the sky, and the abundance of light that will appear in this rather dark courtyard, are intended to turn it into something very light, flickering, and surreal, says Rajkowska.

She decided to realize her project in a narrow court at 3 Piotrkowska Street, the location of the oldest (but no longer open) hotel in Łódź – the Polski Hotel, built in the mid-19^th century. Having been abandoned at the beginning of the 20^th century, it was turned into a council estate after World War Two. Forgotten and untouched for years, it was eventually added to the project Mia100 kamienic (The City of Tenements), which aims to revive the treasures of Łódź’s architecture.

The new ornament, designed by Joanna Rajkowska is based on irregular pieces of cut up mirrors. The assumption is to bring out all of the architectural details – splays, door frames, cornices, and all other irregularities on the elevation.

Rosa’s Passage bears double meaning for me. On one hand, it’s making a direct reference to the location […] the courtyard is supposed to become a passage, a gateway to Zachodnia Street, where the Manufaktura shopping and cultural complex is, and to which the social centre is shifting from Piotrkowska Street. The idea behind it is to built a special place – a trail, and at the same time, to manipulate people’s attention and their physical presence. On the other hand, Rosa’s Passage illustrates the path that my daughter Rosa went through – from not seeing to seeing – the project’s author says.

In 2012, the artist posted on Facebook about her daughter being diagnosed with retinoblastoma – a type of eye cancer.

For now, we believe that, following six cycles of chemotherapy, Rosa will undergo a laser operation or radiotherapy in London, where this kind of treatment is best done at private clinics. It will cost around 20 thousand pounds.

The art environment, and not only, reacted instantly. Two fundraising campaigns were organized, to cover the cost of consultations, tests, and the girl’s operation. Rosa made it.