Elzbieta Zdunek
Bio: Elzbieta Zdunek is a surrealist collage artist, specializing in digital, predominantly grayscale compositions which closely emanate the textures and visual techniques used in the traditional, analog collage practice.
Exploring themes such as fate and the inevitability of repeating history, loss and loneliness, and curiosity and confusion about one’s own identity, her work derives heavy inspiration from 1920’s silent films and historical theatre. This inspiration is evident in the muted color palette, pseudo-framing technique used to border each piece, and predominant imagery of masks and mannequins. Elzbieta Zdunek began her artistic career as a photographer but began exploring collage-making during the pandemic of 2020.
A self-taught artist, Zdunek’s background of leaving her birthplace, Poland, and emigrating between countries inform her work, and she is currently based in Berlin, Germany. Elzbieta Zdunek seeks to indicate one essential, overarching lesson to viewers of her work: That there is no such thing as objective perspective, and this multi-dimensionality of events is created by the various differing natures of our relationships in regard to those events.
She has exhibited locally in Berlin, as well as in in New York, London and California; her works have also been published in several art magazines, including, Heckmag, Artist Talk, or The Huts. She is also a popular cover art author on the Berlin music scene.
Artist Statement: The quote by the Roman philosopher Phaedrus hasn’t lost its validity since the first century CE: “Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many”. Creating digital compositions in which all of the parts blend seamlessly together, while emanating the textures of ripped paper and ink marks commonly found in analog collage, is my primary goal throughout the artistic process. I want to make the viewer question what medium they are really looking at: digital collage, analog collage, or even photography? By intentionally obscuring the process behind my work, I seek to challenge the common opinion of what is considered ‘art’, and more specifically, what is considered ‘collage’. This sense of confusion surrounding my process also intentionally mirrors the feelings of confusion which I frequently address in the subject matter.
Common motifs in my work include the heads and bodies of mannequins, separated from each other, long stretching hallways with obscured events occurring at the end, stray puzzle pieces, and the eclipse. By placing the parts of each of these systems in contention with one another, I aspire to create a confusing reality which is adjacent to our own. This adjacent reality becomes the stage on which I explore two primary feelings: isolation and lack of agency; the former indicated by figures repeatedly clutching onto something, or in the presence of a multitude of figures yet each one is facing away from the viewer; the latter, by emanating scenes on a stage, using imagery of theater materials, and bordering the pieces with a frame-like outline reminiscent of the framing of silent movies. This lack of agency applies to the viewer too, who becomes almost a voyeur and an unwilling participant.
The homage and reference to the silent films draw upon our collective state 100 years ago, and compare this era to our own, which is shockingly similar. Especially in the wake of the 2020 global pandemic and the 2022 war, although we have made 100 years of technological advancements, it seems that we are still just as lonely, and just as in-adeptly navigating the world around us.
