
About
Julia Kaminska is a visual artist from Poland (b. 2001), having moved to the United Kingdom almost a decade ago they have a unique perspective on multicultural facets of identity.
Having graduated with their BA in Photography from London College in Communication in 2023, they continue to pursue higher education in London and hone their contemporary photography skills.Their practice is research-based, with a big emphasis on feminism, the historical roots of patriarchy, and the distinction of the socio-political sphere of Poland in comparison to Western countries.
Artist Statement
I am a multidisciplinary artist, using digital image capture, both still and moving, as well as installation as my mediums.
I possess a strong grasp of how based on the viewer’s participation in the artwork its meaning can be shifted; by combining two-dimensional mediums with sets, I design environments for immersion.
My practice is devoted to process, and performative in nature; the artworks often not having a beginning or an end, the transformations through which I put materials or myself being the focal point. I like to think of my practice as a challenge to preconceived ideas about art, focusing on more activism-based work, designing experiences and immersions rather than a product that can be sold. I also try to put into question the role of art and its physicality, many bodies of work I create are installations, their nature changing the moment they are dismantled, and in a way cease to exist.
My artistic drive is strongly fuelled by my queerness and strict conservative upbringing. Having gone to 2 Catholic schools in Poland, and an Anglican school here, in the United Kingdom, I explore my ongoing journey with my identity, by dissecting themes of transgression, body, and the abject. The most depicted subject in my art is myself, however, I do not create auto portraiture- the role of my art is to push the boundary of identity, through simultaneous documentation and reimagination of the self.
Paired with my fascination with the uncanny, I ensure the emotions and splits I experience during my ritualistic performances in front of the camera, are transferred to the viewer. I look at themes of patriarchal systemic oppression, through the lens of a nonbinary person, by using my body as a prop, subject, and material in my pieces I invite the viewer to rethink their relationship with gender roles and physicality. My works are vessels for discussions about heteronormative society, discussing my positionality within it as a queer, white person, and encouraging the viewer to also question theirs.
Education
2024 MA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts
2023 BA Photography at London College of Communication
2020 A Levels at Royal Russell School
Professional experience
2023 Lighting and Digital Assistant Photographer, London College of Communication
2022 Hackney Boxing Academy x London College of Communication
2021 Product Photography Commission for Chow’s Double Happiness
2021 Product Photography Intern at DERMOI!
Exhibitions
2024 Dress Rehearsal for the MA Fine Art Students at Chelsea College of Arts
Sexual Dissidence (in Art Today) at Millbank Tower
Host Exhibition at St. Stavior’s Church in Pimlico
We’re (B)one at Chelsea College of Arts
2023 To What End? at Chelsea College of Arts
Decolonization, Queerness, and Feminism Research Cluster at Chelsea College of Arts
The Little Show at Chelsea College of Arts
One Thing Leads to Another at Chelsea College of Arts
Departure Longue Show at Chelsea College of Arts
BA Photography Graduate Showcase at London College of Communication
Interim WIP Show at London College of Communication
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