Mural – MEISAL x BARYS (Polska), 2001

The mural on the front wall of the tenement at ulica Piotrkowska 152 is one of the oldest large street art works in Łódź. It was created in 2001, preceding by several years the main wave of murals for which the city is indebted to later Urban Forms festivals.

A boat across the entire tenement wall

The authors are Sławomir Krysiak (MEISAL) and Marcin Barjasz (BARYS), working together as the Design Futura group. The concept was approved in August 2001, work began in September, and the mural was completed on 26 November of the same year. The mural covers the entire front elevation of a four-storey tenement built around 1913. In the interwar period the same tenement housed the Roma restaurant and café, known across Poland, where Kazimierz Englard's dance orchestra used to play.

Design change at the city's request

The artists' original idea featured a scene with boats on the sea. The city authorities, however, asked for the addition of elements recognisable to Piotrkowska: a monument to Tadeusz Kościuszko, the town hall, and a boat from the coat of arms of Łódź. This created the composition now known as the "Boat", though some sources also give the title "Allegory of Łódź". When completed it measured approximately 960 square metres (some sources state 998 m²) and was one of the largest murals in the world. MEISAL is regarded as a pioneer of large-format street art in Poland.

Practical information

• address: ul. Piotrkowska 152, Łódź
• access: Piotrkowska city centre, reachable by trams and buses running along the street; parking in side streets
• what to expect: mural visible from the street round the clock, free of charge; the mural is located on the tenement at Piotrkowska 152, near other points of interest in this section of the street