We are delighted to announce our first exhibition of the New Year, Tarot & Archetypes, with fine art photographer Sylwia Makris and sculptor Tomasz Gornicki. Both artists are from Poland and work exclusively with The Underdog London in the UK. Tarot & Archetypes will explore the Jungian theory of unconsciousness and occult traditions of the 18th century Romani people which are part of popular culture today.
The exhibition is a reinterpretation of archetypes and symbols according to Jungian psychology and the Major Acarna cards of the Tarot. Carl Jung’s philosophy focused on our individual psyche and our quest for wholeness; as such archetypes are a collectively-inherited unconscious idea, a pattern of thoughts or images that are universally present in our daily lives. Our unconscious has a dual structure – the “bright” constructive and “dark” destructive sides. Although Jung never referred to the Tarot in his writings they both present us with archetypes, bright and dark, that serve as framework for understanding our own psyche and the world at large. The Tarot and archetypes form a dynamic foundation common to all humanity, a foundation of which each individual builds his own experience of life, colouring them with his/hers unique culture, personality and life events. The presented works will reinterpret classic symbols and shadow archetypes that emerge from the self and the internal conflict of modern man.
Sylwia Makris is an educated sculptor but fine art photography has been her main visual medium for several years. Sylwia’s creative expression fuses photography with traditional painting and sculpting techniques inspired by old masters and silhouettes of contemporary culture. Her quest produces images that may delight or disturb but always move the beholder. She photographs people. People who are strong or delicate, broken or dynamic. Nakedness is the most natural state. And in our day the most intrusive and common naked bodies are used to tempt, advertise and sell. Nakedness can only say as much as it is allowed to say. Sylwia Makris respects the nude body as part of a story that must be told. As part of a story that tells of people, nakedness regains its original magic, its archaic power and its complexity of expression in Makris’ photos. For her first exhibition with The Underdog, Sylwia will produce a new series of work from the Tarot.
Tomasz Gornicki is a young emerging sculptor who combines classic workshop education with creation and imagination pushing the boundaries of aesthetic experiments. He seamlessly moves among different techniques and materials using marble, clay, bronze and steel. The artist’s interests revolve around realism. Physicality is his basic theme, the vehicle carrying the symbolic world, the trail leading toward the archetypes. His sculptures operate on a monumental scale as well as in small form. He is not afraid to experiment by combining materials such as bronze, stone, and aluminium. He is interested in colour graphics and the interplay between two and three dimensional images. For his first exhibition with The Underdog he will produce a collection of sculptures representing the archetypal symbols present in his everyday life.
Together, the artists are both extremely prolific in their respective fields and make a powerful combination of work; their most recent work was the creation of a moving gallery, Thou Art Darkest, for the Behemoth album launch http://thouartdarkest-exhibit.com/
About Sylwia Makris
1973, Sylwia Makris. She is an educated sculptor but fine art photography is her main visual medium for several years. Sylwia’s creative expression connects photography mixed with traditional painting and sculpting techniques. Her art is inspired by the old masters of painting combined with the silhouettes of contemporary pop culture. Makris currently lives and work in Munich, Germany. Her works are in collections all over the world. http://sylwiamakris.com/
About Tomasz Gornicki
Born 1986 is one of the most interesting sculptors of the Young Generation in Poland, who combines classic workshop education gained at the Faculty of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, with creation, imagination and courage in the field of aesthetic experiments. In his work he seamlessly moves among different techniques and materials alternately using marble, clay, bronze and steel. Górnicki is also one of few sculptors in Europe, who so uncompromisingly annexes the space of the street in the need of his creativity. http://tomaszgornicki.com/