Echoes of the Currents
An urban printmaking installation
Once visible and vital, the rivers of Łódź — such as the Łódka, Bałutka, and Jasieniec — now flow silently beneath
layers of concrete, hidden from the eyes of its inhabitants and erased from the city’s landscape.
Echoes of the Currents is a site-specific graphic installation that brings these lost rivers back into the public
consciousness. Using traditional printmaking techniques combined with translucent materials, the work overlays the
current urban environment with visual traces of the submerged streams.
By placing prints directly in the locations where rivers once flowed, the installation forms a poetic protest against
the suppression of natural elements in urban planning. It invites viewers to reflect on what has been buried — not just
physically, but in memory — and calls for a renewed connection between the city and its ecological roots.
This project adds a new visual and conceptual layer to the chosen site, where invisible waters begin to speak again
through texture, movement, and light. It is both a remembrance and a quiet call for sustainable, water-sensitive urban
futures.
The industrial growth of Łódź was made possible by its rivers. The importance of these waterways is reflected
even in the city's name and coat of arms, both closely associated with the Łódka River.
In the 1820s, the Jasień River became the backbone of the newly established textile settlement, providing
water and power for some of the city's first factories. Remarkably, the river was selected partly because its upper course reached a depth of nearly one metre.
Today, few residents realise how important these rivers once were.
Yet growing interest in restoring urban waterways highlights their
ecological, climatic and social value. Projects such as the restoration of the Lamus River offer
an opportunity to reconnect the city with the natural systems that originally gave rise to it.