orchard

At first sight: it's a map. At second sight: it's not a map. Because if it is a map, then a map of what? Of an orchard, or maybe of a garden. Of an orchard so quickly transforming into a forest, into a wilderness, even into a jungle... But if it is the map of orchard, why are there no paths, beds, bushes, benches and so many other things on it, things which could be in this orchard, even if it is getting wild? So it looks like it is not a map. It is a map-like work. As though a map. Almost-a-map of an orchard. Or rather a map of trees. Of the trees in this orchard. One tree on one page – or on one sheet, writing more precisely. Each branch is one phrase or one word. In different languages. Each tree is multilanguage – mainly in three languages, but sometimes in more than three. Some are printed, some are hand written. Some are colour, some are grey (in shades of grey). These phrases written or printed, colour or grey, criss-crossed and interlaced like branches and twigs... or like boughs, because they are not so fragmented, the net they make is not so dense.

There are a few dozens of these trees. Or a few dozens of pages. Maybe even near one hundred. The pages are fixed to a big sheet of very thin fabric of paper-like colour and texture, so seen from a distance can be perceived as one sheet, a homogeneous unit, maybe little bit creased. Definitely not regular in shape. Not rectangular. It must be this orchard is not a regular one – here it is set back, over there it is jagged, somewhere it looks as if a part was missing... And if we move even further away, so far that the letters in phrases-branches-boughs would begin to merge, blur, smudge and unite (surely the distance would depend on the eyes – maybe there are eyes which would keep seeing everything clearly from any distance), then this work would look like an ancient text written with incomprehensible hieroglyphs – a kind of non-linear script C? the oldest map of the world? Structurally and constructionally ORCHARD reminds BOOKLYN MAP. As well as THE MAP OF ŁÓDŹ. So what? Can remind, can be similar – is it a problem? Each codex book reminds structurally and constructionally any other book of codex form – does it mean the author has been influenced too much? has imitated someone's else idea? Any map reminds structurally and constructionally all other maps. The author's name is Darłsowa Kowanowski. Similar to the author of BOOKLYN MAP. And similar to the author of THE MAP OF ŁÓDŹ. Does it mean he is similar to them? he looks like them?