A.I.R BLEKINGE 2019
KATARZYNA PAGOWSKA
TAAVI SUISALU

SPECIAL EDITION 2019
JULITA WOJCIK
JACEK NIEGODA

Katarzyna Pagowska (PL)
In her motivation to the residency Katarzyna Pagowska writes that she would like to embrace the unique socio-geographical setting of the Blekinge archipelago and the traditions and identities of the islands. Katarzyna Pagowska would like to collaborate with local institutions and various communities in participatory projects during her stay in Blekinge.

“Could the Blekinge archipelago be seen as a litmus paper, a magnifying glass that reflects global challenges? What does it mean to be an islander in Blekinge in the face of the global shifts: climate change, coastal erosion, growing income gap, migrations? Constant transition of people: tourists, permanent residents commuting to work on the mainland, the new absent islanders – second-home owners, refugees, and foreign economic migrants.

The search for a utopian isle, a northern paradise untouched by global problems, an uncharted oasis, safe from disquiet times is deeply rooted in our culture and now has been gaining new connotations.

Various researchers believe that in order to decipher an archipelago we need to examine the relations within. No island is an isolated isle, they exist in relation to each other, in relation to the surrounding sea, in relation to the mainland. Is “island hopping” offered by the Blekinge tourist companies a metaphor of the archipelago, or are there other ways to navigate the complexity of such relations?

In collaboration with local institutions I would like to design a participatory program for various communities around the theme of the Blekinge archipelago that provides multifarious perspectives on the archipelago’s geographical, cultural, historical, and economic relations, and contributes to forming new valuable social bridges.”

Katarzyna Pagowska is a Warsaw based visual artist; her foremost artistic fields are performative actions, installation and photography. She often produces or places socially responsive works in public spaces. She has run art workshops with participants from various communities in UK, Poland, Germany and Sweden. Katarzyna has studied Philosophy at the Warsaw University (M.A.), Sculpture at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts (M.A.), and Fine Art at the Falmouth College of Fine Arts, (UK).

Taavi Suisalu (EE)
Taavi Suisalu emphasizes the vital parts of the research and experiment oriented phase in artistic work during a residency in unknown territory, and it is something that A.I.R. Blekinge embraces during his residency period. “The escape from common routine and no stress of deadlines opens up and allows to follow directions not imagined otherwise.”.

In his motivation Taavi Suisalu writes that he would like to develop a new body of work to see where it can lead, conceptually and formally. “Although the underlying ideas of the work are quite global, and in a way also abstract, they are inspired by conditions affecting audiences in local scale as much as anywhere.”

The environments of Blekinge might find their way into his work, either physically, via representation or by inspiration. During his residency period he will connect to relevant actors in the region, such as Blekinge Institute of Technology, and exhibition plans are also in the pipeline.

Taavi Suisalu initially proposes to present either work-in-process sketches or a performative event, alternatively to lead a workshop during the residency, but can also turn out into a surprise depending on the development of research and meetings.

His conceptual starting point is the first ever photograph of a black hole in April 2019, which emanated from a very complex gathering of data. “But nothing escapes a black hole, not even light and thus what we see on that image, is a shadow of a black hole and not the object itself. Even data can’t escape black holes and thus we become mesmerized by the representation of what is not there.” By juxtaposing technological apparatuses designed to engage or manipulate its users; the attention economy; our fascination for the unknown and black holes – new narratives will appear and might even take form during the residency.

Taavi Suisalu works in the contexts of technology, sound and performance, mixing traditional and contemporary sensibilities and activating peripheral spaces for imaginative encounters. His practice is informed by phenomena of contemporary society and its relations to and use of technologies. He applies subjective research methods to study socio-cultural phenomena, being interested in the behaviour, perception and thinking of social beings.

In 2014, he received the Young Estonian Artist Prize for curating a distributed exhibition throughout non-existent villages of Southern Estonia. In 2017, his work Distant Self-Portrait was awarded 2nd prize in Riga Photography Biennial Awards. In 2018 he was one of the selected artists to participate in the European Media Art Platform.

In recent years he has shown at KUMU in Tallinn; Riga Art Space and Latvian National Museum of Art in Latvia; Le Lieu Unique in France; Impakt in Netherlands; European Central

Bank in Frankfurt; Bozar and European Parliament in Brussels; gallery Triumph in Moscow; gallery Horseandpony Fine Arts and Weisser Elefant in Berlin; Four Domes Pavilion in Poland and many venues and festivals in Estonia.

Organizers and funding bodies
Konst i Blekinge, Region Blekinge, Kulturcentrum Ronneby konsthall, Ronneby kommun

Contact
Torun Ekstrand, art developer at Konst i Blekinge/Region Blekinge torun.ekstrand@regionblekinge.se