Agnieszka Brzeżanska

∗1972, Poland
lives and works in Warsaw, Poland

When it comes to planetary destruction, the angst many of us feel today is palpable. Environmental activism and calls to protect the planet have reached a near-fever pitch. In light of these developments, Gdańsk-born artist Agnieszka Brzeżańska (*1972, Poland) imagines that the entire planet has been declared a national park – a delineated space that protects unique natural, cultural and recreational resources. James Cadle’s “The Flag of Earth” (1970) sets the tone for Brzeżańska’s participation in the Biennale Gherdëina 7. Designed by a rural farmer from Homer, Illinois, the flag consists of a black background with a yellow arc on the left symbolising the sun, a blue circle in the middle representing the earth and a small, white circle in the bottom right signifying the moon. Brzeżańska focuses on the cosmic order and the influence of planetary life on our existence, but also on the assertion found in New Age philosophy that the frequency of 528 hertz, the Solfeggio-frequency, exercises a healing effect on the human DNA structure. The situation is similar to her works in the exhibition. In addition to a selection of large-format paintings, the artist presents a hand-knotted carpet which marks the starting point of the National Park Project and was traditionally made by female Polish weavers. Furthermore, she installed two mountain models made of clay, from which the songs emanate that the artist collects in the course of her research and integrates into her artistic process, as a motif in the description of nature and the present, in order to echo the grounding of the theme.