EXHIBITION
Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art
Centre for Creative Activities in Ustka
/ ul. Zaruskiego 1a
Nadia Markiewicz
Daredevil
Curated by
Weronika Teplicka
Grand Prix at the 10th edition
of the Young Art Biennale “Fish Eye”
Opening
Creative Activity Center in Ustka
admission free
6.03.2024 / 5 p.m.
exhibition
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
7 – 24.03.2024*
* admission to the gallery with ticket
The exhibition “Daredevil” by Nadia Markiewicz is held as part of the artistic residency programme at the Baltic Contemporary Art Gallery as the Grand Prix at the tenth Biennale of Young Art “Fish Eye”.
Nadia Markiewicz presents a video in which she impersonates an acrobat trying to maintain her balance while walking on a tightrope. Balancing her body, in search of its centre of gravity, seems theoretically impossible due to the asymmetry of the artist’s body. Although her activity seems doomed to failure, in the art world, anything is possible and the danger is most likely non-existent. Unless we consider the risk of exposing her own atypical body to the public. The video placed in the central part of the gallery and the presence of a red curtain framing the projection hint at a reference to the aesthetics of a public show and evoke connotations of mass entertainment. The buildings of the metropolis become the backdrop, recalling the achievements of daredevils dictated by fame and the release of adrenaline deposits. In her work, the artist refers to circus performances and “sideshows” popular in the late 19th century, creating a space for the display of bodies that deviate from the norm, outside of mainstream culture. For his latest project, he focuses his attention on the performances of so-called “daredevils”, or stuntmen putting themselves in risky situations, moving in ways that are different from the traditional. Exploring the theme of corporeality deviating from the canon, she finds a place for it in current art. At the same time, she reminds us of the systemic treatment of otherness in the past, seeking to show her own body, on its own terms and reclaiming subjectivity. Analysing her body and its aberrations, the artist explores its qualities by treating her disability as an asset and a strength.
Nadia Markiewicz
is a visual artist, performer, creator of installations and videos. PhD student at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Graduate of Prof. Mirosław Bałka’s Studio of Spatial Activities at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. She also studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and completed an internship at the Studio of Performance at FaVU VUT in Brno led by Julie Béna and Jakub Jansa. Resident of the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York (2023). Winner of the Europe Beyond Access prize awarded by the Zachęta National Art Gallery and the British Council (2021) and the Grand Prix at the 10th Youth Art Biennale Fish Eye (2022). Her work has been shown in nemerous venues including the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Kunsthalle Bratislava, and Sto Lat Gallery in New York.