Biography
BA(Hons) in Fine Art at Bristol Polytechnic
Post-graduate scholarship funded by the Polish government and the British Arts Council for study at Krakow Academy of Fine Art in Poland
Vice President and Academician at Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
Studio holder at Top Floor Studios, Spike Island, Bristol
Statement about current work
Drawing on the language of 17th century Dutch art with it’s readymade gravitas - mortality, fragility, ostentation - I have been staging narratives using digital collage, photographs, oversized flowers, kitsch objects and ornaments, investigating the tension between high and low art.
The aggressive fairies are a response to the well known photograph of a bare chested Putin riding a horse, epitomising to me the hyper-macho posturing prevalent in today’s politics. The symbolic shrinking of violence and aggression to a minimal size renders it harmless.
My cultural heritage is reflected in the resultant paintings, a blend of Polish exotica and Cockney humour, which influences the work both atmospherically, emotively and aesthetically. Lockdown 2020 gave me time to take an in-depth look at the flora and fauna of the domestic garden and to reevaluate it as subject matter alongside art historical sources. I now grow and photograph my own flowers, using the bouquet as a stage or backdrop, to intertwine my daily living with my art practice.
Post-graduate scholarship funded by the Polish government and the British Arts Council for study at Krakow Academy of Fine Art in Poland
Vice President and Academician at Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
Studio holder at Top Floor Studios, Spike Island, Bristol
Statement about current work
Drawing on the language of 17th century Dutch art with it’s readymade gravitas - mortality, fragility, ostentation - I have been staging narratives using digital collage, photographs, oversized flowers, kitsch objects and ornaments, investigating the tension between high and low art.
The aggressive fairies are a response to the well known photograph of a bare chested Putin riding a horse, epitomising to me the hyper-macho posturing prevalent in today’s politics. The symbolic shrinking of violence and aggression to a minimal size renders it harmless.
My cultural heritage is reflected in the resultant paintings, a blend of Polish exotica and Cockney humour, which influences the work both atmospherically, emotively and aesthetically. Lockdown 2020 gave me time to take an in-depth look at the flora and fauna of the domestic garden and to reevaluate it as subject matter alongside art historical sources. I now grow and photograph my own flowers, using the bouquet as a stage or backdrop, to intertwine my daily living with my art practice.
