The Hungarian Educational Institute and Fine Arts Lectorate invited the competition to find contemporary public art works that speak to "the man in the street." In addition to Debrecen, the cities of Dunaújváros, Eger, Győr, Miskolc, Pécs, Szeged and Szombathely participated in the programme.
Some of the works on display in Debrecen are interactive. One of them, an ice rink entitled The Exchange of Opinions, is intended to invoke memories of the past, says the piece's creator Balázs Antal. The area in front of MODEM was once the site of a skating rink which replaced a statue of Lenin toppled by Debrecen's citizens, he explains. Another interactive work is the OASIS sandbox by Zsolt Ferenczy and Gábor Kerekes, who set out to create an oasis for children on a square that is paved entirely with stones. To add to the effect of the illusion, images of mountains and the sea are projected onto a screen behind the sandbox.
The public art exhibition will remain on Debrecen's Baltazár Square for two weeks.
Photo: Tibor Oláh (MTI)
