The title of the exhibition – "Die Lügensteine", or "The Lying Stones" refers to one of the most famous hoaxes in the history of science, which the German physician and amateur geologist Johann Beringer fell victim to in the early 18th century. Beringer was a Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Würzburg and the personal physician of Archbishop von Hutten. However, he was primarily concerned with the study of Triassic fossils found around the city. He published the results of his many years of research in his book Lithographiæ Wirceburgensis (1726). It was only after the publication of his life's work that he learned that many of the specimens he had found and described had been carved and dumped in the fields by two scholars from Würzburg who didn’t like him.
The sculptures presented at the exhibition, carved in marble and granite, are not a direct visual reference to the forgeries planted on Beringer; the title is intended to trigger the viewer's reflection on the role of imagination in attempts to understand Nature and – conversely – the way in which Nature inspires the creator's imagination.
The author of the sculptures – Marcin Mielczarek obtained a PhD degree at the Faculty of Sculpture at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. He has been working at the Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts Łódź since 2013, currently at the Institute of Animation and Games, where he teaches classes on creating a sculptural model. He is the author and co-author of many sculptures in the public space of Lodz, including the popular series Bajkowa Łódź, street spas from Piotrkowska Street and the Legionnaire Monument.
The exhibition will be open until April 27. It can be seen during the museum's opening days and hours:
- Monday: closed
- Tuesday: from10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Wednesday: from10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Thursday: from10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Friday: from10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Saturday: from10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Sunday: from10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The last visitors can enter the exhibition no later than 60 minutes before the Museum closes.
Source and photos from the exhibition opening: Natural History Museum, University of Lodz
Edit: Press Office, University of Lodz