#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W3703
17.05.2011
Izabela Ołdak
WWW
Artist Statement Artists don't make objects. Artists make mythologies. 
Anish Kapoor Art has the power to cause a revolution, to change minds. It is for me a communication aimed at the search for truth, in life and in reality. Art has an immense p ...

Artist Statement

Artists don't make objects. Artists make mythologies. 
Anish Kapoor

Art has the power to cause a revolution, to change minds. It is for me a communication aimed at the search for truth, in life and in reality. Art has an immense philosophical potential, it is a form of freedom to express thoughts, emotions, observations and ‘conclusions’ on the world around us.

I graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan in Poland, and the Dutch Art Institute in Enschede in The Netherlands. In my artistic work I always wanted to go beyond the medium I worked with. I started to built installations out of paintings, I painted on my body and objects. The drawing I extended to become an art action. I used materials such as pigment, salt, sand, soil and ashes for an artistic and most of all symbolic expression. Further I started to create a site-specific installations, which would grow from the research and the experience of the place where I would work. Mostly my artworks are a reaction on the environment, the nature, culture and the tradition. Sometimes they would get social or even spiritual aspects (Going back to the roots , Hope).

At the moment I am researching the broad subject of mythology: the origins of cultures. 
I am inspired by myths and legends where the inception, symbols and archetypes can be found. 
From folklore I use the patterns and the philosophy of life, as I believe that truth and wisdom is in the simplest things. I also value my dreams, and often I use them in my art; the unknown, the subconscious can bring me closer to know who I am. Visually I put all these elements together to create a personal, kaleidoscopic expressive language built of linear, layered forms and illusory psychedelic patterns and figures. Through my art, I try to create a bridge between past and present, as sometimes the shadows of the past can be filled by the present to get a new meaning and bring new values.

Proposal for the exhibition

Myths are universal and timeless stories that reflect and shape our lives- they explore our desires, our fears, our longings, and provide narratives that remind us what it means to be human.
Karen Armstrong (A Short History of Myth)

As you could read in my artistic statement, I am very interested in mythology, which I see as the truthful root of cultures, the spirituality hidden in the stories and symbols. In my art I am not only creating new myths but also exploring origins and the meaning of an old symbols I am using.

I would like to build a labyrinth, site- specific, space/ environmental installation, composed out of 3d modules of painted and cut out ornaments, patterns and symbols which will be inspired by the history and the culture of the place I would work in. The composition of these modules I would like to visually amplify through ceiling mirrors, (made of the mirror foil) to constitute a psychedelic, immersive space. The idea of the environment goes back to the roots of early psychedelia, where the immersion of the surroundings can break the earthy life of the viewer, draw him into the image to become a part of the installation.

The labyrinth is one of the oldest archetypes, used ritually, religiously, publicly. Its form is a symbol of broad protection, a place of initiation and rites of passage connected to the spiritual exploration of the self. The labyrinth symbolized a hard path to God with a clearly defined center (God) and one entrance (birth) or as the Life Path. It was also used for ‘walking meditation’, sacred dance and pilgrimage.

An experience of the labyrinth I want to make is to enter another reality, creating a space, where ‘letting go of the self’ would be possible, to forget all you know, to give into the immersive, psychedelic, trans experience, to become hypnotized by art. It calls for a different, almost mystical experience by creating a site-specific installation, using repetition of forms, the illusion of reflections and the play of light and shadow. Starting from designing the final form of the maze, based on the architecture of the place. Making the research, to create symbols, patterns, forms, based on the history and the folklore of the place. Building each modules so as to fill a whole gallery space. In the similar way I did during the residency in Delft, NL (picture below)

Artist Statement Artists don't make objects. Artists make mythologies. 
Anish Kapoor Art has the power to cause a revolution, to change minds. It is for me a communication aimed at the search for truth, in life and in reality. Art has an immense p ...

Artist Statement

Artists don't make objects. Artists make mythologies. 
Anish Kapoor

Art has the power to cause a revolution, to change minds. It is for me a communication aimed at the search for truth, in life and in reality. Art has an immense philosophical potential, it is a form of freedom to express thoughts, emotions, observations and ‘conclusions’ on the world around us.

I graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan in Poland, and the Dutch Art Institute in Enschede in The Netherlands. In my artistic work I always wanted to go beyond the medium I worked with. I started to built installations out of paintings, I painted on my body and objects. The drawing I extended to become an art action. I used materials such as pigment, salt, sand, soil and ashes for an artistic and most of all symbolic expression. Further I started to create a site-specific installations, which would grow from the research and the experience of the place where I would work. Mostly my artworks are a reaction on the environment, the nature, culture and the tradition. Sometimes they would get social or even spiritual aspects (Going back to the roots , Hope).

At the moment I am researching the broad subject of mythology: the origins of cultures. 
I am inspired by myths and legends where the inception, symbols and archetypes can be found. 
From folklore I use the patterns and the philosophy of life, as I believe that truth and wisdom is in the simplest things. I also value my dreams, and often I use them in my art; the unknown, the subconscious can bring me closer to know who I am. Visually I put all these elements together to create a personal, kaleidoscopic expressive language built of linear, layered forms and illusory psychedelic patterns and figures. Through my art, I try to create a bridge between past and present, as sometimes the shadows of the past can be filled by the present to get a new meaning and bring new values.

Proposal for the exhibition

Myths are universal and timeless stories that reflect and shape our lives- they explore our desires, our fears, our longings, and provide narratives that remind us what it means to be human.
Karen Armstrong (A Short History of Myth)

As you could read in my artistic statement, I am very interested in mythology, which I see as the truthful root of cultures, the spirituality hidden in the stories and symbols. In my art I am not only creating new myths but also exploring origins and the meaning of an old symbols I am using.

I would like to build a labyrinth, site- specific, space/ environmental installation, composed out of 3d modules of painted and cut out ornaments, patterns and symbols which will be inspired by the history and the culture of the place I would work in. The composition of these modules I would like to visually amplify through ceiling mirrors, (made of the mirror foil) to constitute a psychedelic, immersive space. The idea of the environment goes back to the roots of early psychedelia, where the immersion of the surroundings can break the earthy life of the viewer, draw him into the image to become a part of the installation.

The labyrinth is one of the oldest archetypes, used ritually, religiously, publicly. Its form is a symbol of broad protection, a place of initiation and rites of passage connected to the spiritual exploration of the self. The labyrinth symbolized a hard path to God with a clearly defined center (God) and one entrance (birth) or as the Life Path. It was also used for ‘walking meditation’, sacred dance and pilgrimage.

An experience of the labyrinth I want to make is to enter another reality, creating a space, where ‘letting go of the self’ would be possible, to forget all you know, to give into the immersive, psychedelic, trans experience, to become hypnotized by art. It calls for a different, almost mystical experience by creating a site-specific installation, using repetition of forms, the illusion of reflections and the play of light and shadow. Starting from designing the final form of the maze, based on the architecture of the place. Making the research, to create symbols, patterns, forms, based on the history and the folklore of the place. Building each modules so as to fill a whole gallery space. In the similar way I did during the residency in Delft, NL (picture below)