Joanna Pawlik

Joanna Pawlik lives and works in Krakow

She works with painting, drawing, photography, video, performance and directing.

Joanna Pawlik graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (studies at the Faculty of Painting in 1994–1999, diploma in the studio of Prof. Leszek Misiak). In 2018, she obtained a PhD in visual arts at the Faculty of Arts at the Pedagogical University  KEN in Krakow.

The starting point for Joanna Pawlik’s art is the intimate issue of her own impairment which is later expanded by including works by other artists into her exhibitions. In the case of Pawlik’s art, the process of creating the works is as important as their autonomous existence. Striking relationships, overcoming barriers, repeating improvised stories, and increasing the participation of disabled people in society lies at the core of Joanna Pawlik’s artistic practice. The artist wants to make a change and facilitate the authors’ coming out, which literally means coming out of the house. She describes how she had to face the “staring” when, after years of felling ashamed, she finally revealed her experience of disability by showing her personal artworks to the public.

Stairs

Duration: Flexible

Description: Stairs is a series of on-camera performances started in 2013. The common denominator of recordings shot at different locations – staircases, parks, and even a mine – is the repeated image of the author climbing stairs on one leg.
For those with mobility issues, stairs constitute an obstacle in accessing public space.