Magdalena Wojciechowska

Artist's statement

Nature is an endless source of inspirations. Its beauty and plentifulness of phenomena leave an observer in awe and evoke a wide range of emotions. A slightest change in light or in a play of colours creates a different world and puts you in a different mood.

All my works are preceded by hours of observation and analysis. As a patient and sensitive observer, I am trying to capture all the changes in their slightest detail, as none of them are indifferent to me. But I am not trying to recreate what I see. I take this multitude of stimuli and sensations and, by the use of synthesis, I produce an effect which can be presented in the restricted form of an artwork. I show the essence of what effect the world surrounding us has on me.

I concentrate on light, colour, form and feelings evoked by constant changes. I build space and depth in the picture and express emotions by using simple shapes and planes of colours. I want to evoke emotions that initially have been evoked in me.

The way one experriences nature in a foreign place is quite different from the way one experiences it in one’s place of birth. Nature in the place I grew up in is my original habitat. I am a part of it as much as it is a part of me, no matter where I choose to live later during my journey through life. The way light falls and is reflected, the play of colours, the changes that take place, all seem to be well known and to some extend obvious. When I travel and settle down abroad I move from one environment to another. I am no longer a part of the object of my observation. It is something unknown that is surrounding me and an element of dislocation accompanies the way I perceive it. I also become a more attentive observer contemplating every detail of light, colour and change. I do not take anything for granted.

For me, the process of creating an artwork moves to another level. What I perceive and the emotions that evokes, are influenced by my past experiences of my native environment and the emotions surrounding those past experiences. Those two worlds in a mysterious and fascinating way meet inside me, the result of which finds its reflection on canvas.