Joanna Rajkowska, Death of the Palm Tree, on the occasion of The World Environment Day, 1-14 June 2019

The installation will be at de Gaulle Roundabout, Warsaw, Poland

1 – 14 June, 2019

 

The iconic art installation by Joanna Rajkowska, Greetings from Jerusalem Avenue, an artificial palm tree, has towered over the busy centre of Warsaw since 2002. It has been the most successful public art project in Poland and is now considered one of the city’s symbols. Highlighting the void left by the disappearance of the Jewish community in Poland, it signifies the history and etymology of one of the busiest roads in Warsaw, Jerusalem Avenue, and its significance to the city’s identity. Since its inception, the ‘Warsaw Palm Tree’ has become a place of protests, manifestations and gatherings for minority groups, and those who feel unheard and sidelined.

 

Recently the ‘Warsaw Palm Tree’ has been made to shrivel: the top has turned ash-grey, the leaves have dried out and are falling off. The Death of the Palm Tree is a project commissioned by UNEP/GRID-Warsaw Centre, run by Joanna Rajkowska and supported by the Museum of Modern Art Warsaw. The transformation of the palm tree aims to draw attention to air pollution and global climate change as part of the actions taken during the World Environment Day which this year falls on 5 June. It calls for changes in our everyday activities to prevent environmental degradation and to beat air pollution.

 

 

For the interview with Joanna Rajkowska (in Polish), please go here

 

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