Controversial rainbow installation dismantled in Warsaw
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
27.08.2015 10:23
A controversial rainbow installation that had stood on one of the Polish capital's most fashionable squares for three years was finally removed on Wednesday night.
The installation is dismantled on Warsaw's Saviour Square, 26 August. Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
'Rainbow', by Polish artist Julita Wójcik, had adorned Saviour Square (Plac Zbawiciela) since the summer of 2012, having previously stood outside the European Parliament in Brussels.
The work, which was welcomed in liberal circles as a progressive symbol of tolerance of the LGBT community, was commissioned by the state-run Adam Mickiewicz Institute, which supports Polish culture in the wider world.
'Rainbow' was initially supposed to bestraddle the square for a few months, but the institute repeatedly extended the contract with the city.
Conservative opponents of the installation vehemently criticised the rainbow's apparently homosexual connotations, particularly in the context of the adjacent Church of the Holiest Saviour, and there were repeated attempts to torch the structure over the last three years.
The most recent renewal of the contract with the city technically allowed for the installation to stand until the end of 2015.
However, it was ultimately removed, two months before the forthcoming 25 October general election.
The Adam Mickiewicz Institute has noted that the installation will be on view again in the future, and a prominent candidate is the city's Centre for Contemporary Art. (nh/rk)