HANGAMA AMIRI

MATYLDA TRACEWSKA

Biography

Born in 1978 in Warsaw, Poland. Graduated from Painting and specialized with mural techniques at  the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, she has developed her mosaic skills at the Mosaic Faculty of the Academy of Fine Arts in Ravenna, Italy.

She collaborated with Ravenna’s mosaic artists. She participated in various exhibitions, like Works from the World during the Festival of Contemporary Mosaic Ravennamosaico and Bibliomosaico; she represented Ravenna’s Academy of Fine Arts during the Creativity Festival in Florence (2008) and Venice Art Fair of Forlì (2009).

In 2009, together with other students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Ravenna, she made a huge mosaic mural, based on proper project, entitled La Poderosa, now collocated in Sancti Spiritus in Cuba.

In 2010 she was chosen for a Special Prize for Mosaic offered by Solo Mosaico Magazine and she carried out Artist-in-Residence project in Saint Petersburg, entitled Black Square, dedicated to Kasimir Malevich.

She took part of the project Reliquary for Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art 2011. In collaboration with with russian performer Slava Mizin (Blue Noses), she created a mosaic texture for the work Malevich’s Coffin.

In 2011/2012, as a member of Kokomosaico Mosaic Studio team of Ravenna, in collaboration with Noble Design Solutions in Dubai, she worked in Muscat (Oman) doing decorative mosaic pannels, entiteled Tree of Life, for Al Ameen Mosque in Muscat.

Artist statement – FREEDOM.5PM

I came across these two girls playing in the sand on one Friday afternoon while I was wandering down the beach in Oman. There was something touchingly innocent and peaceful in the scene, as the girls seemed to be continuously blessed by the sea each time the wave reached their playground. “Infinite freedom” was the first thing that came to my mind at that moment, and this very image returned to me when I started to think about my artistic response to “Passion for Freedom” theme.

I decided to use a mix of two techniques—painting and mosaics to emphasize the contrast between aerial transparency of the painted image and almost brutal, material effect of the stone surface. The rocky landscape of the mosaic structure creates the sense of depth that makes the view of the girls distanced both physically and psychologically. Through the gap in the wall laced with the wire you can only catch the sight of the world behind it.  Or maybe you can even break through? Who is the prisoner here, you – or them? Or maybe there’s no prison at all?

 

Biography

Sarah Maple was born in 1985. She completed a BA in Fine Art from Kingston University in 2007, and now lives in her native Sussex. In the same year she also won the ‘4 New Sensations’ competition for emerging artists, run by Charles Saatchi. Since then Sarah’s artwork, films and performances have been exhibited in New York, Canada, Israel and throughout Europe. ‘Not for the coy or faint of heart, these unflinching, occasionally even controversial, investigations into what it is to be a woman and a Muslim in 21st century Britain are made joyful by her own very personal brand of boisterous, tongue-in-cheek humour. This is not sensationalism for sensationalism’s sake, but rather a heart felt urge by a twenty-seven-year old artist of great sincerity and talent, for the viewer to look again, and this time with a more questioning eye, at traditionally accepted notions of identity, gender, culture and religion.’ –Beverley Knowles 2011

Artist statement

In my work I aim to make people question beliefs or ingrained attitudes/learned behaviour, almost without them realizing it. For me art is about trying to create social change. As well as this I try to be an activist in my everyday life. I feel that small gestures I do everyday can have a knock on affect to the world around me. In this piece ‘Inaction’ I had used a lyric from a Faithless song ‘Inaction is a weapon of mass destruction’ because I believe we are all responsible for change in our own individual way. In the piece the words dominate and the viewer is forced to look themselves in the eye.

Biography

Luciana Franzolin is a London based photojournalist and lecturer. Born in Brazil, she started a career as a press photographer in 1998, completing a BA in Journalism in 2000 and Post-Graduation in Photographic Practice and Discourse in 2001.Living in London since 2003, she has worked in a wide range of environments and assignments and completed her MA in Photojournalism at the University of Westminster, London, in 2009.

Very passionate about life, people and communication, Luciana currently works as director of training at London School of Photography and divides her time between the school and personal projects, increasingly concerning human rights and freedom.

She is a resident artist at Multigraphias, a multimedia art project including different formats and languages – mainly literature and photography – translating the poetic of the cities since 2008. Her images have been published in newspapers, books and magazines, and have been exhibited in Brazil and the UK.

Artist statement

The photograph presented on Passion for Freedom festival, taken at Tottenham Court Road Station in London, depicts a caricature of the two major religious groups today: Christianity and Islam.

The “Way Out” sign represents the photographer’s utopic desire for a world without religions, or, in the impossibility of that, the assurance of individual freedom to hold or reject beliefs and the total separation between church and state in all nations.

Freedom of thought, conscience and religion are closely related human rights that protect the freedom of an individual or community. The concept also includes the freedom to change religion or not to follow any religion (Article 18 – Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

Even in considered “free countries”, like England, secularism or laicism (laïcité) is not a reality yet; the simplest example is that the Queen, as well as being Head of State is also Head of the Church of England, and Bishops sit in the House of Lords (second chamber of Parliament).

There are also estimated to be around 85 Sharia courts in the country. They operate mainly from mosques, settling financial and family disputes according to religious principles.

In London, Sharia law has been used even to decide a case of serious criminal assault. The courts, which also claim to cover matters such as marriage, divorce, domestic violence and child custody, take place in private and do not publish their judgments.

www.lucianafranzolin.co.uk

MARIA STRZELECKA

Biography

Maria Strzelecka has graduated from Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, department of Graphics where currently she is undertaking her postgraduate studies. An actress, singer in a punk band, graphic designer and a mother of two. Professionally she is illustrating, designing posters, animating and creating special visual effects. She is owner of fashion brand Luka Bandita.

Most known movie posters of her design are: Wojna polsko-ruska, Wszystko co kocham, Dzieci Ireny Sendlerowej.

She was awarded with honourable mention on International Animation Festival in Cracow for animation Bajka and on exhibition during Lodz Design Festival in 2012 for the illustration to Ewa Solarz’s book Elementarz dizajnu.

Oil paintings are part of private collections around the world, mostly in England and Denmark.

Artist statement

Mother of God seen as quintessence of womanhood, maternity and strength is main motif in my work. Although her image derives from Christian culture I see her in wider perspective as nature’s primary power which gives life and protection. In Mama-Anarchija painting I’m not only expressing my support for the girls from Pussy Riot but also I would like to draw attention to women who shows courage struggling for their freedom and right to speech in their own homes everyday. They’re doing this without support and publicity. It’s embodiment of mother, patron of all women who are not afraid to express their own beliefs despite all possible consequences. Mama-Anarchija is passing on her love for the freedom to next generation of brave women including her own daughter for whom she cut out the holes in colourful hat and put on her daughter’s head in empowering gesture.