Magdalena Łakoma / Matriona/Patriona

The video performance directly and indirectly refers to the current war situation in Ukraine. The matryoshka is identified with a mother or a woman, which is extremely important in the context of the current situation in the world. Cultural appropriation was also an important issue in the selection of this sculptural figure, because mainly associated with Russia, the matryoshka actually has broad roots, the sources of which can be found in Japanese culture. It is also associated with Ukraine, being a decoration of most stalls and shop windows and a frequent souvenir from trips to this country. The matryoshkas have symbols of mourning and war symbols inspired by Afghan war carpets from the period of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. The smallest figure, similar in height to the height of a child, refers to motherhood. The three sculptures are arranged in the cycle of a woman's life. The anti-war film poetically captures the subject in two planes, ruins and desert. The film is complemented by the soundtrack of the song "Pust wsiegda budiet sołnce" (eng. "May There Always Be Sunshine"). The choice of the song is determined by the ironic presentation of the illusory promise of peace and prosperity "forever". In the Soviet Union this song was considered one of the symbols of peace. 

Magdalena Łakoma – born in 1995 in Krakow. Visual artist, stage designer and costume designer for theater and film. Graduate of Theater Studies at the Jagiellonian University and Intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. She creates works related to the socio-cultural topics that currently engage her. In her work, she focuses on and processes, often subconsciously, the relationship between an object and space. In her works, she often touches on themes related to feminism, motherhood and the function of art.

Selected exhibitions:

- Transoceanic Visual Exchange (TVE), Lublin, Barbados

- "Young Art Biennale Rybie Oko 11", Baltic Gallery of Contemporary Art in Słupsk, 2024

- "Negative Ability", Prześwit - Collective Cultural Institution, Warsaw, 2024

- Exhibition and video performance screening as part of "XS | eXperymentalna Scena”, Rozbark Theatre in Bytom, 2024

- Performance Platform Lublin 2023, Labirynt Gallery, 2023

- IX SALON BWA TARNÓW, 2023

- “Matriona”, KTO Theatre, Kraków, 2022

- 2nd International Photography Biennale "Visual Expressions of Details", online, 2021

- Poznań Design Festival, Stary Browar, Poznań, 2020

- “Exhibit Yourself at CSW”, Znaki Czasu. Centre for Contemporary Art in Toruń, 2020 

https://magdalenaannalakoma.myportfolio.com/

IG: magdalena__lakoma