The bare concrete walls of the former power station, which houses part of the Arsenał Gallery in Białystok, provide an extraordinary backdrop for an exhibition by Augustas Serapinas. The Vilnius-based artist, through his exhibition “Pine, Spruce and Aspen”, referencing the native species of forests found on the border of Poland and Lithuania, draws attention to the issues surrounding regional wooden architecture. Although Podlasie is one of the few regions in the country where traditional wooden architecture has been preserved, its future is at risk. For the exhibition, Serapinas has dismantled three wooden buildings – a smithy and granary from Podlasie, along with an abandoned house from his native Lithuania – combining them into a single installation.
These structures are characterised by their practicality; they are mobile and modular. The wooden beams that constitute them can be combined freely, which Serapinas has decided to utilise. The artist has created a kind of labyrinth from them, allowing for simultaneous presence both inside and outside. The zigzagging forms contrast sharply with the raw concrete hall in which the exhibition is held.
In the next episode of the “Holistic Heritage” podcast series, Dr. Katarzyna Jagodzińska and John Beauchamp will engage in a conversation with Augustas Serapinas and Matthew Post, the curator and concept developer of the exhibition, reflecting on the plight of endangered vernacular wooden architecture in Podlasie and its surroundings. Increasingly, homes made from pine, spruce, and aspen beams are disappearing from the landscapes of local villages and towns. Some are decaying, while others are sold for timber or renovated, losing their original appearance. Occasionally, they burn down, making way for new investments. Is their fate already sealed?
We warmly encourage you to listen to our podcast, where we pose important questions about the significance of this architecture, its cultural and aesthetic dimensions, as well as the possibilities for protecting, preserving, and adapting this heritage for new functions. An ideal complement to our discussion would be a visit to Białystok. The exhibition “Pine, Spruce and Aspen” is available for viewing until 2 March 2025. We highly recommend it! However, the themes and questions will remain relevant even after the exhibition has concluded.
During the podcast we mention the Koźliki open air museum which we visited as part of the Ukraine Heritage Spotlight series: you can find out more here.