‘Forever Young’ is a new artwork by Norwich-based multimedia artist, Marek Jęczalik, that has just been hung in the American Library in the Millennium Library in Norwich.
Marek explains this poignant piece:
“This WWII Liberator wreckage was created as a memorial to all those brave American airmen who never returned from their missions, and thus will never age another day.
This is the portion of the aircraft commonly adorned with a flirtatious pin-up and the planes’ chosen name. Often the name of the Bomber, and the image, stemmed from a girlfriend of one of the crew members.
I invite the viewer to interpret this memorial sculpture in their own personal way and let the work speak of its meaning to them individually.
For myself, I find two ways of reading the piece. Firstly, I can see this now animated girlfriend changed from her mascot role, to one of painful sorrow for her betrothed. She now resides on a folded dull scrap of aluminium, that was once a proud shiny ‘Liberator’.
The other way I view the work, is to see the girl representing the spirit of the aircraft, which transported these valiant men. After some catastrophic event, She finds herself lying crushed and broken, mourning the loss of her crew – her tears streaming down the side of this metallic fragment.”
Marek, a BA (Hons) Fine Art Graduate from Norwich University of the Arts, has had an obsession with learning how things work since early childhood. He utilises this knowledge gleaned from then until the present day, to bring his ideas and passions to life. The breadth of his outputs are very wide ranging, from micro sculptures, automatons, and antique photography, through to paintings, sound art and short films.
For the most part, his works centre around the themes of Childhood, Nostalgia, and Memories, explored through any number of lenses. The pieces, whether digital, painted, printed, made of wood, metal, or glass are designed to make the audience connect, or reflect upon their own past, the pasts of ancestors, or even of potential persons from a distant point in the future. His more abstract works are created to persuade the viewer to glean their own personal recollections/connections by resonating with a specific element within each piece.
Forever Young is on display now in the American Library, which is open Monday to Friday 10am – 5pm, and Saturday 9am – 5pm.
You can view Marek Jęczalik’s Instagram channel here.
