The site-specific installation “Needle’s Eye” in the gate leading to Ku Farze Street in Lublin creates a “gate within a gate” situation. Inscribed into the historic passageway, the narrow, wooden structure creates a moment of choice: the viewer can bypass the installation or attempt to pass through its rigorous interior.
At the heart of the work is a lamp placed inside the historic passageway. Its light marks the axis for a new, arched structure, across which a nine-meter strip of entirely hand-woven fabric is stretched. Every centimeter of this material is a record of a laborious struggle with the creative process.
The form at the bottom is deliberately tightened, forcing a somatic experience of hardship. The installation thus references the biblical metaphor of the eye of a needle and its architectural inspiration—the shape of the Sandomierz gate, also known as the Dominican Postern or the Eye of the Needle. In this project, the physical narrowing becomes a space of confrontation with one’s own weakness, fears, and the baggage of experiences accumulated over the years.
The structure of the fabric records the release from these burdens. At the bottom, the material is dense, dark, and impermeable, representing the limiting ego. As one moves toward the light source, the weave thins and the gate opens wide—just as consciousness expands.
The top of the structure becomes openwork—the material thins out, giving way to the warp threads alone, which allow the lamp’s light to pass through. This glow symbolizes a state of pure presence. The upward movement opens up a space for freedom, silences the inner monologue, and leads to a place where only pure existence remains.