CURATORIAL RATIONALE
Being a student of Environmental Systems and Societies I try to be environmentally conscious and take interest into current problems that our planet encounters. I’ve also been fond of animals since I could remember. It hurts me to see how often we forget about them, how with simple choices, we could change life of at least some individuals. I wanted to be the voice for animals and I was mostly inspired by what is happening around me – cranes who were kicked out of their hotbed because of a road that is being built, fur farm in a neighbouring village. I also feel that most of us don’t realize that the couple of zlotys more spent on eggs are worth it as cage poultry rearing is almost an animal abuse. Moreover, there are brands claiming not to test on animals unless the law requires it, which predominantly would be Chinese law – then are those brands really cruelty free if they test, but on the other side of the world? I want to shed light on those matters that are often overlooked as we rush through our lives.
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Installations can often be really direct, sending a strong message. The sculpture of a white rabbit standing on a bottle of Chanel’s no.5 with a syringe in his back is dramatic, contrasting the red colour of the bottle and syringe with the undisturbed, pure white of the rabbit. The poster about changing the roles of a human and an animal farmed for fur is supposed to confuse the audience and make them reflect on the use of fur for decoration of clothes and the ethics behind fur farming. Watercolours being the one of very few media offering colour, that I am open to experiment with, were the choice for the next artwork which is a tribute to the white giraffe found recently dead in Kenya. The contrast makes us reflect on how desperately we try to make everyone equal, how we hate when an individual steps out of the line. Pencil is one of the mediums I feel confident with however it is not very expressive therefore I had to go extra way and make a much more contrasting drawing from what I am used to, and thankfully the effort paid off and the artwork with a burned edge behind the deer sends the message that even the strongest animals are vulnerable for such a threat that fire is. Being a fan of a Polish architectural magazine “rzut” I was inspired to create the work about intensive animal farming in a style that Marta Lissowska designs their covers which usually is a fun plan of an interior of some sort. Being a fan of Japan I always wanted to create something in this a bit primitive due to the lack of shading, but nonetheless beautiful, traditional style that uses a lot of contour and gold. The artwork portraying cranes with extreme detail and golden glow that makes them almost saint like and this is supposed to remind us that the wildlife is just as important as we are. The herrings are an experimental piece of art as the fishes are made out of blister packs and the pockets that the blister packs were in. Putting them in a tin, adjusted for the needs of art in terms of colour and shape, makes an installation that tells about the plastic in the oceans and how deadly microplastic is as we end up eating it from the fish. For the final artwork I decided to do something different, and wrap a long graphic around a felt stool, making the viewer interact with the art, walk around it. In a simple, child-like colour scheme I conveyed the message of brutality behind cage poultry rearing.
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Enjoy my exhibition!
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Aleksandra Lipinska
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