Agnieszka Brzezanska’s exhibition at Marlborough Contemporary, installation view. Photography by Francis Ware
Frieze London only opens next week, on 14 October, but while you wait there’s plenty of galleries to visit, for which you won’t need a ticket. Marlborough Contemporary in Mayfair, for instance, is showing artist Agnieszka Brzezanska’s exploration of nature’s mysterious forces. The solo show features ten new paintings with astrophysical depictions in rich colours, as well as a Taiko drum – an interactive amalgamation, which gives away the artist’s concerns with transcendence and visual wonderment. Sleek spoke to Brzezanska about the energy of form, the power of vibration and how conscience can manipulate matter and space.
You work with various media so how do you navigate between them? And how does the Taiko drum connect to the paintings you’re showing?
Agnieszka Brzezanska I like the works to be as simple and as coherent as possible, so I choose the most appropriate medium for each work/show. I see all media as part of a continuum, and each gives me a different point of view. As for the Taiko drum, I needed an element to connect the paintings to the spirit of the river raft. I had spent a few weeks in the rivers together with it, and I wanted to share the space and energy, the power of the water and sky, and beauty of nature. It also gives an element of performance to the show, and I am very happy to see that people enjoy using it.
Agnieszka Brzezanska’s exhibition at Marlborough Contemporary, installation view. Photography by Francis Ware
Agnieszka Brzezanska’s exhibition at Marlborough Contemporary, installation view. Photography by Francis Ware
Could you tell us more about the visual vibrations and energies that emerge from form and colour?
Colour is only the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is actually only a small part of it, one thirty-sixth. But it is very beautiful! Physicists discovered that everything is just vibration. And vibration creates geometry which gives us structure. There is so much fascinating material on that, so many books, that I would only recommend reading good authors on quantum physics string theory. It gets even more interesting if we take an interest in fringe physics and channelled material. And when you realise that everything around you is a vibratory state, and time and matter and space can all be manipulated with your own consciousness; once more of us realise or learn how to do it, we can create a new Earth.
Agnieszka Brzezanska’s exhibition at Marlborough Contemporary, installation view. Photography by Francis Ware
Agnieszka Brzezanska’s exhibition at Marlborough Contemporary, installation view. Photography by Francis Ware
You talk about spells in your work; do you ever get called a witch?
We are perceptual beings, and we have full command of our perceptions, therefore we can transform them into what we desire. But the main tool is meditation and connection to nature. When you observe your thoughts and feelings and notice how malleable they are and how you can steer them into the direction you agree with – then the magic happens. There is no real need for spells; they are just attractive tools we may use if we enjoy doing things that way. Being called a witch is a universal experience of any freedom-seeking woman. It comes with a long history of persecution and repression, but it is nice to live in times when we can be called that and do not fear. I study women’s history with the writer Max Dashu, I can recommend visiting suppressedhistories to read her articles, and excerpts from “The Secret History of the Witches”, a forthcoming book.
Interview by Will Furtado
Agnieszka Brzezanska’s solo show takes place at Marlborough Contemporary, London, until 31 October
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