The work of the artist Paweł Swanski depicts the timeless struggle of the forces of nature.

This large-scale mural, showing animals fighting each other—an eagle and a dragon—was created on the façade of the Wokulski Department Store on the side of 11 Listopada Street, in the very center of Bielsko-Biała, near the bridge over the Biała River.

The mural was created by a Warsaw-based artist working under the pseudonym Paweł Swanski. It is another artwork produced in the urban space as part of the fifth edition of the “oBBraz miasta #5” project, carried out by the Bielska Gallery Foundation and Bielska BWA Gallery. The work, which began on September 1, was completed on September 10.

The mural in Bielsko-Biała is another piece by the Warsaw artist in his original mural series titled “Jungle.” The mural in Bielsko-Biała is called “Merging.”

“By depicting animals fighting each other—an eagle and a dragon—Swanski draws attention to the laws of nature, which directly translate into our human relationships. In the human world, just as in the animal world, there is a constant struggle: the stronger most often wins, and each process comes full circle, making everything unfold within a constant order of the world despite turmoil and apparent chaos. Through the mural, the artist reminds us of the forces of Mother Earth and our connection to them. Swanski creates the mural for Bielsko-Biała in his characteristic linear style, referencing Eastern art, its symbolism, woodcut works, as well as contemporary tattoo art.”
—Justyna Łabądź, curator of the “oBBraz miasta” project

Paweł Swanski is a painter, graphic artist, illustrator, and creator of animations and music videos. He was born in 1980 in Warsaw. He belongs to the so-called “transformation generation.” Despite his relatively young age, Swanski is already a recognized artist in Poland and abroad, associated with urban culture and achieving early successes at contemporary art auctions. His work often comments on and documents the surrounding reality.

He has held two solo exhibitions in Poland and participated in the RedBullBoxGallery at the Centre for Contemporary Art Laboratory in Warsaw, in the “Lactations” exhibition at Galerie Nabrezi in Prague (Czech Republic), and in the group exhibition “Art of Football” in Milan (Italy) and Basel (Switzerland) during Art Basel.

Swanski’s mural was created as part of the “oBBraz miasta #5” project, implemented by the Bielska Gallery Foundation and Bielska BWA Gallery. The idea of the project is to enrich urban space with works created by recognized artists.