Alexandra CLOD (Krolikowska)
Alexandra is one of the artists selected for (Re)Grounding, a programme of research residencies exploring the climate emergency in post-industrial contexts in partnership with IZOLYATSIA, arts producers in Ukraine. (Re)Grounding is part of the UK/Ukraine Season of Culture devised jointly by the British Council and the Ukrainian Institute.
Alexandra is a multidisciplinary artist and psychologist. The Industrial context of Donetsk city where she grew up provoked her interest in the current environmental crisis and in how humans relate to nature. She works with the subjects of mythology (ancient rituals, sacred knowledge and symbols), global changes (shift of technologies, transition from postmodernism to new cultural paradigm etc.) and the psychological theories (such as archetypes, wholeness and trust).
The (Re)Grounding residency at D6 has given her the opportunity to reconnect with her childhood and the history of mining. Through a series of conceptual still life photographs, drawing parallels between the past of miners' lives in Ukraine and England, she builds a metaphorical narrative, questioning the ethics of exploitation of the Earth. Using common objects from daily life, Alexandra places coal and related items among fruits and flowers. The objects are saturated by symbolic and mythological meanings, as well as connected to the idea of extracting something out of the earth or going underground.
Exploring how mythological scenarios are manifested in the modern world, Alexandra compares miners’ work with the Ancient Greek idea of ‘katabasis’, a Hero’s journey (Joseph Campbell) to the underworld – usually, going through dangers to the realm of the unknown in order to find a treasure.
More information
alexandrakrolikowska.tumblr.com
(Re)Grounding
Alexandra is a multidisciplinary artist and psychologist. The Industrial context of Donetsk city where she grew up provoked her interest in the current environmental crisis and in how humans relate to nature. She works with the subjects of mythology (ancient rituals, sacred knowledge and symbols), global changes (shift of technologies, transition from postmodernism to new cultural paradigm etc.) and the psychological theories (such as archetypes, wholeness and trust).
The (Re)Grounding residency at D6 has given her the opportunity to reconnect with her childhood and the history of mining. Through a series of conceptual still life photographs, drawing parallels between the past of miners' lives in Ukraine and England, she builds a metaphorical narrative, questioning the ethics of exploitation of the Earth. Using common objects from daily life, Alexandra places coal and related items among fruits and flowers. The objects are saturated by symbolic and mythological meanings, as well as connected to the idea of extracting something out of the earth or going underground.
Exploring how mythological scenarios are manifested in the modern world, Alexandra compares miners’ work with the Ancient Greek idea of ‘katabasis’, a Hero’s journey (Joseph Campbell) to the underworld – usually, going through dangers to the realm of the unknown in order to find a treasure.
More information
alexandrakrolikowska.tumblr.com
(Re)Grounding