Artist Statement by Karolina Żyniewicz
I am an artist&researcher&educator, and, most importantly, a liminal being, existing and performing between various contexts and disciplines. Polish by origin, I am living in Germany (Berlin), navigating the liminal zone between the two countries, their history and culture.
I graduated from the Faculty of Visual Arts of the Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź and hold PhD in cultural sciences (title obtained in 2023, in the transdisciplinary Nature – Culture doctoral program at the Faculty of Artes Liberales of the University of Warsaw). In my PhD research and dissertation titled TRANSMATTERING IN THE MAKING: Autoethnographic Analysis of Relations among Human, Post-Human, and Non-Human Liminal Beings, I invented the notion of transmattering that contains the characteristic of my practical and theoretical work.
While executing art&research projects, I also conduct ethnographic and autoethnographic observations, which constitute the basis for my reflections on the role of non-human actors in creating contemporary culture.
I’ve chosen one from many different definitions of art: art is a way to perceive the world; it is a cognitive attitude. In my opinion, creation is based on staging research situations linked with crucial problems of modernity. Art should pose questions while getting the answers requires direct contact with the audience. I use the word life with an inclusive meaning. In my opinion, life as a topic contains everything essential and exciting. The crucial element of life lies in its biological aspect. That is why I decided to make biology the background of my liminal practices. I do my best to touch on critical contemporary issues such as the approach of modern people to biological aspects of their lives, the social attitude to cutting-edge biotechnology, and bio-medicine.
For a liminal being like me, building relations and collaborations is essential. That is why I am a member of The Eco-and Bioart Lab (hosted by Linköping University), a collaborator of Art Laboratory Berlin, and an associated editor of the Technoetic Arts Journal.