White Page – Soul House

White Page _ Soul House

A monument Commemorating the Victims of Totalitarianism
Brussels 2018

The idea is to create a monumental lightness and transparency – the island and a sacral space. It is proposed as a metaphor of a letterusing patterns of light which give a new vision for the present. The status quo of the square (dark rectangular grid) and a new volume (the tower of light) contextually and semanthically synthesize a new ratio of commemoration where a letter – a message through prison bars – and a well of light reflect in an infinity of water mirror.

The form is a plastically rolled up sheet of paper.

This sheet is perforated with fragmented letters of victims in different languages.

The wholeness becomes a sculptural text that visually melts upwards. The daylight comes downwards whereas during the nighttime the light pours out of the volume.

A white segment of paving – metaphor of a Tabula Rasa – is provided in the center of the square. The fountains of the square are retained as important  elements of one symbolic system.
Tower’s fundament and the water pool – a  steel structure, painted with RAL 5004 (Black Blue) color. Volume of the tower –steel structure, 15 mm thick,painted in white paint (RAL9010).

The structure loses 40 per cent of its mass due to perforation and becomes lightweight and wind-permeable construction with its unique sounding.

Bridge and the railings – translucent triplex glass.

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Mantas Maziliauskas project presentation and speech delivered to the European parliament on May 3, 2018

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Good afternoon,

Firstly I want to thank all the organizers of this competition. I want to thank Mr. Kaminski and all his team for a thorough coordination of it through entire year.  I had a healthy life event of Art and Creation. I am also thankful for my team members – Gitana Stankiene and Povilas Šorys, with whom I experienced new winds of life. I am glad that my concept was so highly acclaimed.

The Concept

The concept – White Paper which is essential for writing a letter from the places of genocide as much as for writing directives in Brussels. In this way the monument would become a contemporary object and place both conceptually and physically. Each and every moment we have a new beginning where a white paper can become the House of the Soul.

Monumentality and Atmosphere

It is good when the form complements the content which constructs the sybmolic meaning. There really was a goal in the place of Jean Rey of such symbolic fullfillment without losing the bright and lively mood of the place. This fullfillment was meant to act not only conceptually but also physically.

So through the freedom messages from the past this ever lasting image of white paper is actual today as it becomes the sculptural structure of texts which channels the light to us.

The existant architectural structure of the place metaphorically complements the concept with a motive of prison bars.

In the context of heavyweight analogues of monuments around the globe, as far as the heavyweight architecture of Brussels, for the monumental measures of this monument, the most important feature is simplicity, lightness, transparency and musicality. The texts of the victims letters are transformed into the light and the monument loses half of it‘s physical weight. Furthermore, it‘s inception into water mirrors the possibility of transcendance.

Such is everybody‘s and nobody‘s temple.

By the way, yesterday we were walking in the Place Jean Rey, and we met a duck.