This iteration of Land Art on the Border saw our third return to the Sławatycze region. We selected ten artists to transform the local landscape into a natural gallery using found materials.
While willow remained our primary medium, one artist’s choice stood out: concertina wire. This razor-edged material, used for border fortifications, is so pervasive here that locals sarcastically refer to it as one of the area’s “natural mineral deposits.”
The project also bridged generations. Working with the local school, we discovered a group of fifteen-year-old boys with an instinctive talent for weaving. Despite holding willow withes for the first time, their movements were so sure and steady that we joked the “weaving genes” of their great-grandfathers had finally awakened.
The boys visited us in their free time. Under the guidance of instructor Karolina Karpińska, they crafted their first baskets and learned how to harvest material for future weaving. We are crossing our fingers—perhaps basketry in Sławatycze will become as popular as it once was.
Photos: Marcin Butryn
Read about works created this year
Anna Szczygieł | The Path
“In my search for inspiration, I found a vast meadow with a single, majestic tree standing at its center. Its silence gripped me. I decided to build a gate on that empty plain. Every ‘path’ is a promise of adventure, often winding and difficult, but always leading to a reward. I invite you to step through this gateway; behind it, your journey begins.”
Anna Elsner – Beast, Tamed
“What is a beast once it has been tamed? It is the ancient willow of the Bug River, its trunk rising from the banks like a great serpentine monster. I sat perched upon its back, weaving willow withes directly into its bark to form scales, fins, and the curve of a head.
The act of weaving while suspended in the tree brought a profound sense of safety. I felt a kinship with the creature; I knew it was a guardian beast, patrolling the riverside to protect those who honor the local wild. For me, the title carries a second, more personal meaning: as a weaver, the ‘beast’ I must tame every day is the willow itself—bending the wild, stubborn withes until they submit to my hands.”
Joanna Bęczyńska | Solace
“This spatial form represents the clutter of thoughts, anxieties, and daily burdens we all carry. Here, cradled by nature, these fears take root in the ecosystem. Like a lightning rod, this installation allows our dilemmas to flow into the earth, grounding us in a sense of unity and peace.”
Lena Jungowska | A Breach / Wrested
My work hinges on a linguistic tension: a rift toward freedom, and freedom torn away.
I created an illusory barrier—a light, skeletal frame that seems impassable.
Yet, behind this phantom wall lies the heart of the piece. A beautiful surprise awaits the viewer brave enough to step through the rift.
Martyna “Tysia” Denis | The Vortex
“My work mimics the spirals and movements found in nature. Woven into a living shrub, it creates a tunnel—like the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. It is an invitation to lean in, to explore, and to lose oneself in the intimate details of the wild.”
Magdalena Korbuszewska | Unspoken Hopes
“Twelve openwork willow faces hang on a derelict, abandoned shack. Their graphic, mask-like features ask the viewer: Does this look like your neighbor? Or someone from a distant land? All the faces lack mouths. We all harbor unspoken hopes for a peaceful tomorrow; sometimes we keep our dreams silent so as not to jinx them.”
Paweł Adamek | Nothing Special/Chicken with a Pipe
“A ‘chicken’ made of willow and wire, nailed to the back wall of a forbidden outhouse. He is barely holding on. Barbed wire is stuck in his eyes; the weight of prohibitions—don’t enter the river, don’t walk here without permits—is in his head. Behind him, a Pandora’s box of wild wasps and ‘hypothetical terrorists’ seethes. I gave him a lit cigarette. ‘It’s nothing, Chicken,’ I told him. ‘Chickens don’t cry. The sky already broke for us.'”
Karolina Ben | Silence
“Inspired by wind chimes used for meditation, I hung three willow tubes from the branch of a weathered tree. But these bells are empty; they produce no sound. Here, the ‘music’ and the balance are provided entirely by the scenery and the profound silence of the backwaters.”
Katarzyna Rudzińska | Woven Harmony
“A 3D installation of levitating baskets and frames made from branches. Nature ‘paints’ the most magnificent pictures, and these frames highlight the bends and arches of the trees. Willow spheres float nearby—havens where we can deposit our worries, leaving our minds free to engage with the landscape.”
Katarzyna Skipirzepa | Combed Thoughts
“This work captures the struggle to organize chaotic thoughts. I tried to braid them into a graceful whole, yet I ended up with a complex, difficult knot. The colors represent the weight and diversity of our fleeting ideas—the beautiful, messy entanglement of the human mind.”