Aga Rymuszka

The centre of my artistic practice is seeking the grotesque and the peculiar in life and in society, gathering these notions, cultural fragments, experiences and images and transforming them into paintings and sculptures. I want to showcase an altered, bizarre version of the world, perhaps as a reaction to the posthuman times we live in. The uncanny and strange feel more real to me than the ordinary, unrestricted by general societal norms.

My practice is rooted in the theatrical, the grotesque, carnival and puppetry. In my work, I search for where life and art meet and multiply it by ten, deriving from the carnival traditions of excess, play and absurdity. I am interested in exploring the ‘popular culture of laughter’ that historically allowed people to subvert the existing status quo. I am not into what’s beautiful, nor am I looking for the truth or grand ideals. I want to show the ambivalence, the in-between, what is strange, eerie, and out of place, the fever dream. 

"Travel is useful; it exercises the imagination. All the rest is disappointment and fatigue. Our journey is entirely imaginary. That is its strength. It goes from life to death. People, animals, cities, things – all are imagined. It's a novel, just a fictitious narrative. (...) And besides, in the first place, anyone can do as much. You just have to close your eyes. It's on the other side of life."

Louis-Ferdinand Céline: Journey to the End of the Night