Simple materials
Between 2009 and 2012 Bielawska selected materials and objects for her works that are normally used as supplies on construction sites, in house work, etc. – the "half-products," as the artist calls them, that are usually ignored. These include linoleum, plastic veneer, floor finishes and panels. She explains to Bogna Świątkowska in an interview from 2012 for Notes na 6 Tygodni:
They actually don’t have anything personal or characteristic in themselves, they are just neutral. But to me, they create opportunities for constructing forms which are partly rooted in our everyday reality, and partly detached from it, burying a certain order that we are accustomed to. An order of functionality and usability.
This shifting of roles of those mundane materials is fundamental to Bielawska’s output. By bending their functions, she intends to make them operate on the borders of meanings. At the same time, it is important for her to identify and follow the logic of the material she works with. In the catalogue for the 2013 group exhibition, The Splendour of Textiles, at Zachęta National Gallery of Art, she commented on this idea:
Textiles are materials that stay with us all the time, are closest to our body and touch, and thus connect directly with reminiscences and memory. Textiles, be it a dress, a tablecloth or a tent, easily assume the shape that we desire them to, and, with all their delicateness, are surprisingly durable.
With time, Bielawska moved away from neutral materials such as linoleum, floor panels, laminates and modelling clay and reached for fabrics and ceramics. The artist also returned to calling her works ‘sculptures’ rather than using the neutral term ‘object’. Materiality and everyday use remain important to Bielawska, but the term ‘sculpture’ creates a framework for perception and experience.
Human scale
Bielawska always measures her works on a human scale – both literally and metaphorically. Most of the time, the artist creates works especially for upcoming shows, assembling them directly in the exhibiting space. While installing, she constructs the works according to her natural size, and measures one object against another.
Traces of human touch are, according to Bielawska, a natural feature of objects around us. By leaving her own fingerprints, allowing imperfections, or arranging the elements in ways that are temporary or ephemeral, the artist highlights the tactility and responsiveness of her objects to the surrounding.
Drawings
At the intersection of lines (I), 2017, pencil, colored pencil, 21×29,7 cm
Bielawska studies the material world in search of the poetry of everyday objects. However, the drawings come first. They are not models or drafts of installations, but autonomous works – foreshadowings of the sculptures. Bielawska pours lines, stains, colours and ideas onto paper. Ultimately, only some of them materialise. The artist’s drawings are often displayed alongside her spatial installations. As she says, they allow her mind to drift off, be momentarily free from physical space restraints, and create visual puzzles.
Words
Words, letters, signs and poetry are other components of Bielawska’s work. The titles of her works capture attention, suggesting a narrative or a hidden story. The artist often employs quotes, poem fragments and scraps of private conversations. There is a continuity to Bielawska’s work – each piece evolves from the previous one, and it is not uncommon to see an inspiration reappear. The artist is consistently focused on the relationship between sculpture and space and how her work functions in different interiors.
When working on the titles for her works or exhibitions, Bielawska often reaches out to her sketchbooks which include both drawings and text. Making sure to avoid literalness, she is not afraid to use titles that are longer and not directly related to the presentation of work, thus teasing the audience’s imagination and provoking abstract narratives in their minds. One example of such play with words is the title of her show at the now-vanished Czarna Gallery in Warsaw, – I Feel I Forgot Something. – I Think You Remember Too Much, which is an excerpt from Bielawska’s conversation with a friend. She also reaches out to poems or texts written by classic authors – even though they are her readings, and feed into her mindset, the provenance of the phrases is secondary to their poetic effect.
…and an indescribable outline, 2015, textile, aluminum, steel. Exhibition view Views 2015 – Deutsche Bank Award, Zachęta National Gallery, Warsaw, photo: Bartosz Górka
Soft Ground
Soft Ground is a Polish-Lithuanian artistic project created by Alicja Bielawska in cooperation with Kristina Aglaji Skaldina, ending the Polish artist's two-month residency at the Art Colony in Nida. Bielawska was invited to Lithuania by curator Justė Kostikovaitė, who introduced her to Kristina. It is her dance performance that the participants of the Soft Ground exhibition witnessed in the Design Space Sodų 4 in Vilnius. Bielawska has been wanting to use movement in her works for quite some time. Her previous works focused on drawing and sculpture. Ultimately, both artists came to the conclusion that fabric is a very malleable material, and so the entire choreography was based on a blanket. Skaldina moved around a very small space, marked out by a rectangular blanket, which she folded many times during the event. The performance took place at the opening of the exhibition in Vilnius, which featured of a series of objects made out of ceramics and fabrics, drawings and documentation of the performance.
That same year, Alicja Bielawska was nominated for the Polityka Passport award, which is granted annually to distinguish brave artists who cross borders in art and reach not only domestic but also foreign recipients.
