Artist
Michalina Bigaj
ABOUT EXHIBITION
Opening: 19th February 2016, 6pm
Opening hours: Mon - Fri, 10 am – 6 pm
The definition of island in geographical terms of land surrounded by water is only a starting point for Michalina Bigaj's artistic exploration. A study tour to Iceland inspired her to take up the subject of island in her work, both in its universal and local sense. Seclusion and isolation are the features most commonly associated with this topos, and in the case of the farthest northern part of Europe, it additionally evokes a vision of a country full of contradictions; the land of ice and hot springs. The meetings with inhabitants of Iceland, the stories heard from them as well as the artist’s own experience gathered in the course of her journeys, confirmed her opinion that nature still has tremendous influence on the residents’ lives. The artists builds a visual narrative about the relationship between people and the unbridled forces of nature which force them to continue to adapt to the nature’s rules.
Michalina Bigaj, visual artist, born 1991, in 2010-2015 studied at Sculpture Departament at the Academy of Visual Arts in Cracow and Universität der Künste in Berlin (2014/2015). Artist creates sculptures, videos, installations and photographs, in which she tries to find balance between different categories of culture and nature. She was a fellow and the winner of contest organized by Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for outstanding achievements in artistic creation. She was a participant of 7th 'Kunszt Young Triennale' at the Center of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko (2014) and over a dozen of group exhibitions.