This monumental concrete sculpture portrays two figures, male and female, seated beside each other on a bench. The scene seems to depict a mature relationship. Calm coexistence of two human beings united by the hand of a woman who embrace the man while he is presented in a closed, proud posture with his hands crossed on his chest.
The title of the work refers to the legendary characters of Wars the Fisherman and Sawa the Mermaid, from whom Warsaw took its name. Their romance gave birth to the city situated by to the Vistula river.
‘Wars and Sawa’ is installed on our gallery terrace as an outdoor exhibition placed between ghosts of modernism in the time of social distancing and Easter spirit.
Althamer’s sculpture is inspired by Henry Moore's iconic ‘The King and The Queen’ (1957), Cycladic idols figures, Easter Island statues and the Dogon’s wooden sculptures.