For what? - Kamila's Szejnoch commission for the Post-Industrial Revolution

Kamila Szejnoch,  For what?,  commissioned as part of 'Post - Industrial Revolution' curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Roma Piotrowska, Custard Factory, 2011, photo by Nicky Getgood 

The Exhibition will be open until the end of this week so this is the last chance for you to see outcomes of the month-long residency of Polish artists in Digbeth.  
In this post you can find more information about the work of Kamila's Szejnoch, which will be followed by posts about other artists in the next few days. 
During her stay Kamila Szejnoch has developed a fascination with the Birmingham coat of arms, using it as a focal point of her research.  In particular she is interested in the motto for the city ‘Forward’.  

The coat of arms of Birmingham 

For Kamila exploring the significance of symbols and monuments associated with a city is significant, and she often develops whole bodies of work in relation to obscure local references to civic pride. She tries to approach outdated layers of the past by adding something new, contrasting with its original style or function. Her works often consist of two elements, one is history and tradition, the  second is more contemporary, open, playful and interactive.

For Post – Industrial Revolution Kamila has developed a series of site specific interventions through out Digbeth.  Most notably ‘For what?’ a large scale text piece situated in a car park next to the Custard Factory facing Digbeth High St.  ‘For what?’ is a direct response to the 'Forward' mural, an earlier art work referencing Birmingham's coat of arms in a car park on Heathmill Lane.  'For what?” aims to instigate a dialogue about the past and future of the district by responding to the statement ‘Forward’ with a question. 

Newso, Forward, art work referencing Birmingham's coat of arms in a car park on Heathmill Lane, photo by Nicky Getgood