olga anacka

About


Bio

Olga Anacka is a migrant conceptual artist working in mixed media from her Newbridge studio. She was born in 1977 in Poland. She graduated from University of the Arts in Poznan in 2004. A year later, she won a distinction in Olsztyn Art Biennial for the metal and clay installation, part of Sacred Landscapes series. Her Cocoons, fabric sculptures from ME<MATERNITY project, were shortlisted for Celeste Prize 2011 in Rome and 2012 New York. Olga also received ARTstap Open Submission Award in 2012 for the same body of work, and shortly after took a break in her art career until 2019. She partakes in Cill Rialaig project and is a member of Visual Artists Ireland as well as Kildare Arts Collective. She was awarded Tyrone Guthrie Residency 2023 and Arts Act Grant 2024 from Kildare County Council.


Art Statement

I am a mixed media visual artist who has developed a unique approach to the art process where old materials are upcycled and reused to reduce waste and support the circular economy. I blend practical skills and techniques in search of new solutions to create my prints, paintings, tapestries, and sculptural objects.

My practice is informed by the environment. I perceive the world from the perspective of a mature woman who has experienced social changes triggered not only by varied stages of life and time passing but also by a migrant background. Through art, I comment, praise, or question the reality relevant to me, aiming to stimulate the audience to critical thinking regarding obvious, often stereotypical aspects of life.

I am inspired by Polish Critical Art of the 1990s and contribute to the discourse on identity concerning feminism, the human condition, and the ecology of places.

Studio shot, Newbridge, 25/04/2024






Paintings

VAMPIRE

mixed media on canvas, 40x40cm / 2024

PINKY FOGGY

mixed media on canvas, 50x40cm / 2022

THE MEADOW

mixed media on canvas, 50x60cm / 2022

BEFORE THE STORM

mixed media on A3 320mgs paper / 2022

AUTUMN STUDY

mixed media on A3 320mgs paper / 2021

ON THE RIVER BANK

mixed media on A3 320mgs paper / 2021

OLD FRIEND

mixed media on A3 320mgs paper / 2021

UPHILL WALK

acrylic on wooden board, 40x50cm / 2022

BALANCING IN MALAGA

street installation / 2021

CRAVING FOR HAPPINES

acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 95x68cm / 2021

CRAVING FOR HAPPINES

street installation / 2021

WHEN SHE BREATHES

mixed media on a wooden panel, 80x60cm / 2022

RIDERS IN THE NIGHT - KOLĘDNICY

acrylic on canvas, 95x98cm / 2021

ENCHANTED MOUNTAIN

acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 55x85cm / 2021

THE BOND

acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 95x68cm / 2021

THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY

screenprint monotype and acrylic on wooden board, 40x50cm / 2020

TURONIE I

acrylic and spray paint on wooden board, 40x50cm / 2021

TURONIE II

acrylic and spray paint on wooden board, 40x50cm / 2021

Cocoons

ME < MATERNITY project

NEST

textile, 25x25x25cm / 2012

NEST

textile, 25x25x25cm / 2012

BEAUTIFUL CREATURE

screenprint monotype, 40x45cm / 2019

LAVA FLOW

screenprint monotype on fabriano paper, 40x40cm / 2019

BLOB

plastic lenses, 55x35x35cm / 2013

FLOCK

drawing and animal hair installation, 80x50cm / 2015

FLOCK detail

drawing and animal hair installation, 80x50cm / 2015

SOAP BUBBLE

plastic lenses, 60x40x40cm / 2012

SOAP BUBBLE

plastic lenses, 60x40x40cm / 2012

UPHOLSTERY

textile, 90x75x80cm / 2012

COCOONS

installation / 2012

PINKY PROMISE

textile / 2011

QUIET COMPANION

screenprint monotype / 2019

ETHEREAL

textile, 25x60x25cm / 2010

MADE IN IRELAND

textile, 36x36cm / 2010

PUPA

textile, 120x50x60cm / 2011

PUPA, installation

textile, 120x50x60cm / 2011

Texts


ME < MATERNITY project – series of feminine cocoons

When I was a child, all around was magical and undefined. Women of my childhood were always busy with crafty works, especially a grandma who was a tailor. She passed her skills to 3 daughters, so I am used to having scraps of materials popped in corners of a house, also colourful threads and buttons laying everywhere. Women in my family came easily from stirring meal to sewing, knitting, embroidering, composing flowers and so on. The work was left at their fingertips, waiting to go on with it. So is my art nowadays.

This body of work was created in a span of 8 years during winter stormy nights, which are very common in the area where I dwell. I had young children at that time. I felt enormous solitude because of living in a foreign country, taking any odd jobs to survive, in general being stuck in the house. This feeling shaded another - the need to care for and protect my family.

In the process of creation, I referred to old craftsmanship, in particular house-holding works carried by woman in the old days to feel safe and in the right place again.