Silent Memorial – Andrejkow's barn murals

Silent Memorial is an open-air gallery of portraits scattered across villages and painted directly onto the boards of old barns and sheds. Sanok-born artist Arkadiusz Andrejkow started the project in 2017 in the Subcarpathian region, and the album published in 2021 already featured more than a hundred of these works. The walls show people who really lived in each village, taken from old family photographs.

Where the 'deskale' came from

According to the artist, the idea came to him while travelling between Subcarpathian villages: the raw, unprimed barn walls looked like a ready-made canvas. Instead of typical oversized portraits of faces, he decided to use old family photos from the village where each work was made – usually from the private collections of the building's owners. Each painting was done in a single day, sketched loosely and semi-transparently so that the grain of the boards stays visible and the figure looks as if it had always been part of the wall. Followers of the project named the works deskale (from deska, 'board'; 'drewnale' is also used).

Where to find them

The artist's website lists the first works: in 2017 murals appeared in Nowa Wieś, Załuż, Wolica Piaskowa, Myczkowce, Gorajec, Orelec and two in Komańcza, and in 2018 in Bóbrka near Solina, Kniażyce, Zwierzyń and Wronki. Over time the project spread beyond the region:

• Hajnówka – since September 2020 the wooden façade of the old station building has carried portraits of engine driver Mikołaj Bujnowski and amateur poet Nina Bujnowska.
• Naglady in Warmia – several works were painted here in 2022, including Józef Białojan (born 1899), deported to Siberia and later village head.
• Markowa – in October 2023 the artist painted a barn mural dedicated to the Ulma family.
• Podchełmie near Grybów – a barn carries a portrait of Franciszek Paszek 'Kmicic', made within the project together with the Saga Grybów association.

Did you know

The project won Andrejkow the Ambassador of the East award, and his painting has been the subject of an Arte documentary (2021) and of Paulina Ibek's film 'Znowu są' (2022). In 2024 he received the Silver Cross of Merit for preserving the memory of Poles who rescued Jews. The murals are not monuments in the classic sense: they commemorate ordinary residents, neighbours and ancestors rather than textbook heroes.

Tripto tips

This is not a single route with a ticket desk and signposts. Pick two or three villages in one area, for example around Komańcza and Solina, and combine them with a trip to the Bieszczady or the Low Beskids. Many works stand on private property: view them from the road, do not enter farmyards without the owners' permission and do not photograph residents without asking. The murals fade with the weather and old buildings are sometimes taken down, so check current information on a specific work before a long drive.