Magdalena Szmagier

For more than 30 years, the bas-relief by the Grześkiewicz family adorned a functioning swimming pool. During the demolition of the pool, it was heavily damaged and submitted in almost two hundred pieces to the conservation studio. The largest of these had been removed along with the wall. I started my work by removing more than 160 kg of cement and bricks. I matched and glued the surviving fragments of the original and reconstructed the missing parts in materials imitating ceramics and coloured enamel. This restored the original appearance of the object. The structure fitted inside the bas-relief expands its mobility, exhibition possibilities and reappearance in public space.

Working on the minor gave me the opportunity to better understand technological processes involved in creating ceramic items, their potential and limitations.