Karolina Bielawska

author biographical note degree piece

Gedenken has touched upon the issue of war “seen” from the perspective of a generation that never directly experienced it. The title comes from German and means “to remember”, “to think of”, “to commemorate”. There is an important point of reference to it – the history of Masuria houses abandoned after the Second World War, the local population recognised as Germans was resettled, and their possessions seized by new residents. However, the traces of the “enemy” culture exist to this day and cast a shadow on identity of contemporary communities living in these areas. Using the medium of painting, I created an installation of barely visible figures, inspired by war stories I saw and heard. I cut human shapes, painted previously, from adhesive film, which allowed me for “embedding” the pieces into the environment. The film gave them a sterile, artificial character, as the characters turn out to be phantoms, images from someone else’s memories.

(born 1986)

Studied at the Faculty of Media Art of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (2012-2015) and the Faculty of Polish Studies of the University of Warsaw (2006-2011). Fields of artistic activity: painting, photography and installation. Finalist of the competition “Hestia Artistic Journey 2015”.