Henryk Morel / SignsIn 1967, during the Second Biennial of Spatial Forms, a sculpture by Henryk Morel entitled “Destruction” was erected on a hill in Elbląg. Made from scrap metal, the seven-metre-high structure was expected to undergo progressive degradation as a result of time and weather conditions. The sculpture had not been subjected to conservation for a number of years. The artist himself told Głos Elbląski that the form towering over the city “is meant to remind us of the constant threat and resurgence of evil forces”[1]. Eventually, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was cut up by random thieves.“What Morel did,” Grzegorz Kowalski said, recalling the Elbląg event, “was the first sculpture to make use of destruction – it was an expression not only of his reaction to reality, because he carried this destruction within himself. It was actually an image of the destruction of civilisation, his sculpture had something of a warning, a kind of memento to the present day.” [2]Henryk Morel was a versatile creator of sculptural forms. He created monumental designs, small ceramic sculptures, even chocolate designs for the Wedel factory. He left behind a huge collection of drawings and ink works. He also created multimedia projects based on creating a space for multi-sensory perception, through shapes, light and sound.He was born into a peasant family in the village of Goleniowy in the Kielce voivodship on 11 March 1937. The premature death of his parents during the war meant that five-year-old Henryk and his three siblings were taken in by distant family. “I started attending school in Drużykowa, where I was on duty,” wrote Morel in his resume at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. After finishing primary school, he goes to the Pedagogical Lyceum to move quite quickly to the State Secondary School of Visual Arts in Zakopane under Antoni Kenar. It was Kenar who pushed for further study by writing in the candidate's questionnaire: “…he is eminently gifted and artistically sensitive…”.In a small portfolio of work at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, the grades from his studies sit alongside applications for scholarships, his only regular source of income. “He didn't confide at all, he was shy and delicate,” [3] recalls Prof. Maciej Szańkowski, Morel's friend from his Zakopane school and studies. The constant search for a livelihood drove the young students to produce mannequins, furniture from trees felled in the forests near Wołomin, or metalwork for the Music Industry Trade Centre. In the meantime, Morel read a lot and listened to music. “He was becoming an intellectual type, an attractive companion for important conversations.”[4]A few years later, after Morel graduated, his supervisor, Professor Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz, asked the university authorities to accept Morel as an assistant: “Henryk Morel, who studied in my studio and received his diploma with honours this year, was distinguished during his studies by his great moral qualities, ability to coexist with people, social skills, friendliness, rare conscientiousness at work. On the other hand, he stood out with his artistic work. His development from the third year of his studies makes it possible to discern an already clear artistic individuality – he was able to arrive at his own independent interpretations, combining a particular sculptural sensitivity with a sound analysis and research inquisitiveness, while at the same time demonstrating a rare perseverance in the study of the issue taken up.”From 1966 on, he took part in important events for the Polish avant-garde: The 1st Symposium of Artists and Scientists in Puławy, where he realised his famous sculptures combining rubber and metal. In 1967, he realised the “Space of multisensory perception” at the Third “Złote Grono” Art Symposium in Zielona Góra. At the Second Biennial of Spatial Forms in Elbląg, he realised the spatial form mentioned above on a hill outside the city.His sculptures were events, blazing completely new trails. His professional and life situation was stabilising. However, this was not enough. The events of March 1968 shook the artist to the core. He couldn't cope with life and was plagued by dreams.  At a plein air event in July 1968, Henryk Morel committed suicide.The exhibition at Kordegarda, the Gallery of the National Centre for Culture, recalls the work of this outstanding artist. We present drawings from his student period, sculptures and ink works.  The latter in particular show the struggle between light and darkness. The darkness seems to be all-powerful. This is the same entropy shown earlier in his Elbląg work, “Destruction”. Death has forever linked the artist to his work.[1] Waldemar Baraniewski, Henryk Morek i „bebechowata faktura dętki, w “Henryk Morel : oscylacje / książka pod redakcją Anny Marii Leśniewskiej ; [scientific editors Anna Maria Leśniewska, Łukasz Musielak].” Szczecin: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Malarstwa i Nowych Mediów Akademii Sztuki, 2018. Print, 2018, p. 52[2]  Leśniewska-Zagrodzka, Anna. “Henryk Morel / Anna Maria Leśniewska.” Henryk Morel (1937-1968) : rysunek, rzeźba, kompozycja przestrzenna : [exhibition catalgue], 7 III – 4 IV 1997, Cracow, Rynek Główny 25, Galeria Międzynarodowego Centrum Kultury. N.p., 1997. Print, p. 30[3]  Maciej Szńkowski in: “Henryk Morel : oscylacje / książka pod redakcją Anny Marii Leśniewskiej ; [scientific editors Anna Maria Leśniewska, Łukasz Musielak].” Szczecin: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Malarstwa i Nowych Mediów Akademii Sztuki, 2018. Print, p. 23[4] Ibidem, p. 24Curator: Agnieszka Bebłowska Bednarkiewicz Curatorial tour: 03.12.22; 10/12/22; 08.01.23 at 16:00-19:00,