Raft, 2021

Raft is a project carried out in 2021 by Paweł Althamer in collaboration with Józef Gałązka and Natan Kryszek. The action took place on Wrocław’s Słodowa Island, where the artists invited residents to join in building a floating vessel from recycled materials.

“Let’s build a raft, let’s embark on an adventure” — with these words, Paweł Althamer (pictured left, in an orange jumpsuit) invited passersby and onlookers to take part, turning them from spectators into co-creators. Anyone could become part of the work. The raft was built using recycled barrels, fallen tree fragments, and waste from a local sawmill. The project became a space for encounters, collective action, and a momentary escape from everyday life.

The inspiration for the project was Théodore Géricault’s painting The Raft of the Medusa, which depicts the tragic consequences of the 1816 shipwreck and the social divide between those rescued and those left behind. Althamer’s Raft carries a different message — it is a symbol of seeking salvation in community, creativity, and the simple act of doing.

A second point of reference is Charlie Chaplin’s film Modern Times, in which the protagonist struggles against a dehumanized, automated reality. The artists resist such a vision — they oppose a world with no room for imperfection or authenticity. In this sense, Raft becomes a metaphor for salvation, cooperation, and the freedom to be “imperfect.”

Paweł Althamer, pictured on the left in an orange jumpsuit.