Malgorzata Drohomirecka

Tell us about yourself. What is your background and where did you grow up?  How have your life experiences shaped your work? 

I was born in Gdańsk, northern Poland and grew up in a seaside resort town - Sopot at  the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. It was right at the meeting point of different worlds. As  it was then that the political and social transformation in Eastern and Central European  region began. 

Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" ["Solidarność"] was founded in  August 1980 at the Shipyard in Gdańsk. Subsequently, it was the first independent  trade union in a Warsaw Pact country to be recognised by the state. "Solidarity"  movement played a central role in the end of Communism in Poland and the rest of the  Soviet Union block. 

I think that what has shaped me was a mixture of declining Communism, fantasies of a modern "Western lifestyle" and …Catholicism.  

Catholic church played an important role in resisting Communist rule in Poland. That is why parents, who were not even religious themselves, but were against the government, sent their children to religion classes.  

Nevertheless, for me such lessons consisted of the guilt-inducing teaching about  original sin, creating the fear of going to hell. While the omnipresence of the crucified,  pain-stricken body of Christ induced anxiety about my own physicality. 

Why did you become an artist and what has been your journey up to this point? 

In the 90s' Poland was in transition from communism to a free market economy. Everyone  was excited about the transformation. 

Unfortunately, the society, apart from becoming capitalist, didn't go through much  profound socio-cultural changes. Our mentality was shaped by history of oppression  and self-victimisation. 

Catholic church became even more powerful. Under its influence, the new, democratic government became more and more conservative. Compulsory religious classes were  introduced in schools. 

As most teenagers I was quite revolted against the norms that society imposed on us.  

Luckily, Sopot was a vibrant arts hub. It was famous for music festivals. Its bars and  cafes served as meeting places for many artists. Some of my friends' parents were  artists too. I found their alternative way of life very appealing. 

Once I decided to give it a try and I went to the local art house for drawing lessons. 

Soon after I decided to study painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. 

However, the exams were very difficult. It was a four-day marathon where you had to  draw and paint for 8 hours every day. Only 14 people were accepted for each academic  year. As I am not a competitive person I couldn't deal with the stress. I failed the exams  three times. Finally, I was accepted, but then I had an aversion to institutions of all kinds for quite a long time. 

During my studies I went to New York. As a result of various circumstances, I became a  painting assistant of an artist - Kehinde Wiley. Together with other painters I was  working in his large studio in Williamsburg for almost a year.  

Being in New York was a turning point in my life. The experience was so stimulating that after I came back to Poland to complete my master's degree, I couldn't really find myself  in Gdańsk anymore. I missed the energy of the large, cosmopolitan city. 

That is why in 2008 I decided to move to London. I have lived and worked here since. 

What is an average day in your studio like and what is your routine? 

I have a studio in East London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is called  Bromley-by-Bow. The building is part of ACAVA (Association for Cultural Advancement  through Visual Art) and accommodates more than 50 artists. 

It takes me 45 minutes to cycle there from home. When I arrive at the studio I get changed, have some tea, and start making notes. Because first I want to decide what I want to do on that day, which part of the paintings I am going to work on. I paint for around 3 hours.  Then I take a break for lunch and go back to work for another 3 hours.  

Certainly, when I paint it is important to me what kind of music I listen to. I have a small  collection of records from a friend with whom I shared a studio. I also like to listen to podcasts and radio programmes. 

What is your creative process? 

My creative process starts with the research. While reading books and articles, visual  ideas start to appear in my mind. Then I make sketches in my notebook or collages in  photoshop. 

I engage with motives from popular culture such as films, music videos and stock  images.In my latest cycle Polonia_2020 I borrowed the motifs from iconic Polish 19th- century paintings and inserted them into various contemporary environments. 

The new series of paintings I am working on is based on the photoshoot. I would like to work with models, costumes, and props more in the future. 

How do you choose a medium for your work? Do you prepare and plan or do you improvise and experiment? 

It was a long process before I came back to figurative oil painting and decided to  use narrative in my work. 

At the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, we had to learn to observe nature: study  models and still lives. It was taken to such an extent that, when I tried to experiment  with other ideas, I felt completely blocked. 

When I came to London, first I wanted to get rid of the baggage of experiences that I  had brought with me. I started to make playful abstract compositions using strong, bold  colours. At that time, I was mainly focused on screen printing. I also experimented with  camera-less 16 mm film.  

Are your works conveying a message? Is there a narrative or a story to your work? 

I wanted to forget and detached myself from the past. 

However, it turned out that the label of an immigrant from Eastern Europe sticks more  strongly than I thought- especially in the atmosphere of Brexit. 

Meanwhile in 2015 in Poland, the right wing populist party - "Law and Justice" won the parliamentary elections.  

I have realised that I cannot but refer to what has shaped me. The question of identity  became unavoidable. Therefore, I started to use the potential of figurative painting to analyse the symbols  and allegories that have played a significant role in shaping our collective imagination. For me, it is a way of  working through the negative stereotypes that have become  entrenched in the patriarchal system, and  revealing how this system imposes structures of dominance and submission.  

However, I treat the dismantling of national-religious themes as a starting point for  building an alternative vision that responds to the aspirations of those who are  marginalised in our society. 

Who and what are some of your greatest influences in both your life and as an artist? 

It is a difficult question, not only because the list is very long, but also it  changes and fluctuates during the years. 

I find women from previous generations, who managed to find their voice in the male  dominated world (such as: Leonora Carrington, Georgia O'Keefe, Agnes Martin) very  empowering. The actions of the Guerrilla Girls are the call to arms.  

Virginia Woolf played an important role in shaping my imagination.  I have always admired Käthe Kollwitz for her powerful expressionistic drawings.  

On the other hand, I was very impressed by Goya. Especially the series of Black  Paintings. He criticised the Spanish authoritarian government and the Catholic Church. In his  latest works he showed how those institutions exploit people's ignorance for political gain and  replace reason with superstition. Alas it is relevant these days. 

Significant impact on my work was a Polish writer- Izabela Morska. One of the  paintings presented at the "Improbable Encounters" exhibition - "The Flowers of the  Soul Are Burning Under the Shell of an Ass" is inspired by her book. That title is a quote from her novel "Absolutna amnezja" [Absolute Amnesia]. 

Recently I am affected by Rosi Braidotti's "Posthuman Feminism". I have got the feeling  that she and her posthuman theory will have an impact on my future paintings. 

Do you consider your work of art a creation or a discovery? 

What motivates me to paint is the unknown of what will come next. I always wonder where the painting I am working on will take me. 

It's like peeling back the layers to see what's behind the next picture.