XVII1 Painting

Born in communist Poland, I spent part of my childhood there until moving to Africa. Later I lived in London and studied at Camberwell College of Art. Now I am back in Poland and have built a second home in Egypt, as a way of retaining close contact with contrasting culture. Living in diverse environments, colours my view of the world and inspires my creative work. As a multi-media artist, my work ranges from site specific projects to installations, printmaking and photography. I have developed my own printmaking technique where prints are taken directly from objects on location. These monotypes mirror the different sites I encounter. Or focusing on environmental issues, I encased green, sculptural prints in museum showcases to show them as precious pieces of earth. Another body of work, echoes improvised music with the unpredictable imagery of weather maps. I have always been preoccupied with the theme of crossing, either territorial or cultural boundaries. The recurring image of a boat, is an accent which has appeared in various forms in many of my exhibitions. Being an outsider has made me see things from a different perspective. For example, my show titled ‘Aliens’ for Watermans Art Centre, consisted of large banners with mysterious emblems, placed on an island in the Thames. The Snowball project moved across desert landscape in South Sinai. The Portrait and Stones project in London, focused on the passage of time. Often my work deals with travel but also very intimate personal journeys. Bones have a special significance for me as my pelvis was shattered in a car accident many years ago. An incident which has had a long-term effect on my life. My current series of photo installations features camel bones. They were collected by me and arranged in various landscapes.