Ukrainian Artist Creates Mirror Mandala At Jewish Cemetery In Poland

Ruslan Kolmykov places small shards of broken mirrors onto a wall at a Jewish cemetery in Kalisz, Poland, on January 2. He says the message of his latest work, titled Source, is peace, love, and harmony. 

Kolmykov says he chose the Jewish cemetery in Kalisz to foster better relations between the town's Polish, Jewish, and Ukrainian communities.

Shards of mirrors await their placement on a table at the site. Kolmykov fled to Poland after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Kolmykov says he wanted to maintain the dignity of the cemetery by creating a pattern that would respect Jewish culture and its history. Established in 1920, the cemetery survived the destruction that befell many Jewish sites during the Holocaust.

Kolmykov poses for a photo next to the mandala.

During World War II, the cemetery was a place of mass executions of Jews from the surrounding area. 

Kolmykov spent over a month creating the installation by using mirrors from a furniture factory that were cut into pieces before being glued onto the 50-square-meter fence. 
 

By working with colored glass, Kolmykov is able to insert hidden images, such as 12 male figures who dance around a fire. He says it provides them with warmth, energy, knowledge, and unity. 

Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning "circle." The symbol is used in various spiritual traditions.