Michalina Pasierbska

Year of birth: 2004.
Education: State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Warsaw (2019-2024).
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (2024 – ).
Discipline: visual arts.
My art in 3 words: Perceptive, experimental, expressive.
Instagram

Your diploma project, “Is that what we see is what we truly believe?” combines textile art with LED light. What inspired you to use these materials, and how do they contribute to the message of the piece?

I decided to work with textile art  because it conjured up my memories from childhood, when I had a little loom and my mum taught me to crochet. I wanted to dive into the field of textiles. LED’s smooth, artificial surface is a contrast to soft structures of textiles. The textile body is inspired by nature, the LED is something from a different world, but together they create am artwork which goes beyond the tradition of textile art. 

I titled my work with a question because during creative process, people approached me and asked: what is this? When I answered them, they were disagreeing. Every person saw something different, so I decided that this work is about our innate thoughts, what we have in our minds and what we see, but is it actually true?

Michalina Pasierbska | The most beautiful is the object which does not exist | 2023

You quoted Zbigniew Herbert’s poem for your work “The most beautiful is the object which does not exist.” How does Herbert’s philosophy influence your art?

Zbigniew Herbert’s quote gives a powerful meaning to a simple object, an original NYC postcard from 1997. This work is about noticing changes, small and dramatic ones, such as 9/11. My ready made states, that the world has never been the same ever since. Everyone, who lived then, remembers in details what they had done on this day, which is also an  interesting aspect for a person, who only knows 9/11 from history, a tragic one.

In your piece “What it takes to see 24 milliseconds?”, you transformed a sound wave into a 3D model. Could you share more about the process and the idea behind this transformation?

“My wave” as I call it, responds to a theme “Packaging made not obvious”. Music has been an important part of my life, so I wanted to make a packaging for a sound. Sound can be only visible on a diagram and sound waves take space, so it’s like a already existing invisible sculpture.

Michalina Pasierbska | What it takes to see 24 milliseconds | 2023

You’ve recently organized workshops for elderly people. What impact did this experience have on you, and how does intergenerational dialogue influence your art?

This experience has made me realise something about myself, that I enjoy explaining art to others and show it from a different perspective. Making art is about confidence, then you can do anything because when you know everything is possible. This what I was trying to pass on elderly people, that they can also be creatives.

You are also involved in the art festival “Sztuka6.” What was your goal with this event, and how do you see your role as both an artist and organizer?

My main goal was to revive our higschool’s tradition after covid pandemic. Our last year’s success, has led to a big event this year. Being an artist and an organiser is actually an intresting expierence. I enjoy being a manager, creating an exhibition from others artworks and organising lectures and meetings with creative people is an interesting experience and mind opening. 

Michalina Pasierbska | Is that what we see is what we truly believe | 2024

How has studying at the Academy of Fine Arts influenced your creative approach, especially in the field of sculpture and installation?

I’m during my first year at Academy of Fine Arts, so I just started, but besides that, I think it gives me opportunities to experiment with installation, sculpture and moreover, meet new people.

You work across various media, including textiles, sculpture, and video. What motivates you to explore such a range of artistic forms, and how do you choose which medium to use for each idea?

Sculpture, video and textiles are indeed various media, but for me what they all gave in common are their spatial forms. All of them need light, space and composition to start being an artwork. I don’t particularly choose which medium I will use for each idea, I just think about what I desire to say and how am I going to do it. Whether it’s a film, what story I want to talk about, sculpture and textiles – what do I want to explore in materials and what message I convey.