Sculpture, Video, Painting

-2023-

Invited to create a project for the 4th Industrial Biennale titled ‘Landscapes of Desire’ in Croatia, Jankowski came across The Sculpture Garden Dubrova, a picturesque site outside of Labin where sculpture workshops focusing around the local ‘istrian stone’ have been held regularly for more than 50 years. As a result of these workshops the number of artworks continues to grow and the extensive park is populated with more and more white sculptures, now numbering 79. The stone sculptures’ subjects vary widely from the allegorical to the abstract. 

For this project Jankowski decided to transform the 30-hectare site into a functioning golf course where the sculptures now became inspiration – and orientation points, sometimes playmates or obstacles for the athletes. In collaboration with experts from the Croatian Golf Association a 9 hole course was designed. Fairways were cut in characteristic shapes, holes dug and flags placed. The biennale and the Croatian Golf Association promoted the 1st Industrial Golf Open on TV and radio inviting players to participate in the tournament commemorating the 101st birthday of golf in Croatia. The opening event was filmed by a TV crew and the winner – a former politician – celebrated and interviewed. 

After the announcement of the winner, the participants placed 101 golf sticks into a prepared istrian stone which later was erected as the latest addition to the sculpture park. The symbol of a crossing hammer and golf club were engraved into two sides of the stone while a golf ball and the rectangular shape of a quarter stone on the other. In a park filled with carefully carved and formed sculptural pieces Jankowski’s rough block of stone, unaltered from the state it was harvested from the quarry stands out – the particular shape being chosen for its ease of movement, stacking and transport from the large industrial quarries from which the istrian stone comes and distributed internationally.

The Industrial Golf video was presented at the ‘Lamparna’, an exhibition space located in an abandoned building of ex-coalmine premises. In the film a professional golf journalist gives commentary on the tournament, describing the tension, style, stresses and successes of the players’ games while interweaving reflections and information on the sculptures connected to the game. 

In a  series of canvases that reference both golf course maps and the history of landscape painting, they portray the fareways and groups of sculptures they connect. Similar to the way group exhibitions create new readings through proximity, the sculptures connected in each painting also highlight different artistic and athletic themes.