Paulina Olowska: On the Idea of Freedom
The artist opens up her studio at the Villa Kadenowka and provides a background for her show ‘Destroyed Woman’
The artist opens up her studio at the Villa Kadenowka and provides a background for her show ‘Destroyed Woman’
‘What is maybe considered a leftover or a dumb story, could actually have a hidden meaning’, says artist Paulina Olowska. In this video, filmed in in Rabka-Zdroj, Poland around the artist’s studio and the Villa Kadenowka, a 1930s villa she has transformed into a space for artists events, Olowska discusses the complex relations of her practice to art history, tradition, place, dress and processes of mediation.
Revealing the rich diversity of her work and expression, the video includes footage of Olowska excavating fabric she had buried in the ground near Kadenowka, which have been incorporated into a sculpture displayed in ‘Destroyed Woman’, her latest show at Simon Lee Gallery. Its title a reference to a pivotal text by feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, Olowska explains her particular concern for making room for vulnerability in the representation of female experience. ‘I’m tired of calling women ‘strong’ and “superwoman”', she says, 'there is still a sense of doing a lot for female place in culture’.
‘Paulina Olowska: Destroyed Woman’, curated by Clément Dirié, is on view at Simon Lee Gallery, London, until 16 November 2019.
