Ella Sowinska

Statement

My work is concerned with the private and intimate lives of others, and our obsession and fascination with the documentation of them. I am guided by the theoretical discourses of reality television and documentary practices, and often takes these forms as a starting point. I am interested in the impact that the media has on these relationships and how they are portrayed. Working predominantly in video, installation and occasionally, live performance, my work is critical of the documentation of the intimate lives of others, and of the subsequent voyeurism. Often twisting actions that have been performed in the past, I address the staging and manipulation inherent in the representation of a real subject, and the subsequent loss of control of one’s own likeness when represented on television or in documentary film. I address the impact that the constructed situation has upon these social relationships, and explore the power dynamics between director or artist and actor, participant or contestant by drawing attention to the often-constructed situation.

GlogauAIR Project

For my potential residency at GlogauAIR I will continue to work on my current project, which aims to create abstract and alternative responses to the phenomenon of romance reality television and the fascination that many of us share with the intimate lives of others. I aim to highlight the excluded members of society and critique the expected norms for both women and men proposed by this genre. I will critique the form that intimacy takes when documented for television by using abstracted forms of the genres of reality television and documentary practices. Some possible ideas to use as a starting point:

• Work with one of the improv acting schools in Berlin such as Die Gorillas to set up a live date performance (or series of live date performances) with two improv actors playing the two daters.
• A video project where I follow two people on a first date with a GoPro camera strapped to my head (potentially actors, potentially non-actors on a real date).
• Strap GoPro’s to the heads of two people on a first date (potentially actors, potentially non-actors on a real date).
• Work on a series of scripted reality television episodes, twisting the relationship between fact and fiction in reality television and documentary I will draw inspiration from the popular television show The Bachelor/ette (which is a new phenomenon in Australia) and conduct further research into shows which have responded to and critiqued The Bachelor/ette (whether intentional or not) in terms of mutual choice, vanity and ideas of masculinity and femininity such as Adam Zkt. Eva, a show from The Netherlands that was recently aired in Germany.

The work that I create throughout the residency may seem abstract and far removed from my sources of inspiration acting only to distance my work critically from romance reality television. I hope to use the other artists participating in the residency as participants and potential collaborators. My project so far has eliminated the inherent competition of romance reality television such as The Bachelor/ette and instead focuses on the first date itself and the absurd act of filming it. It creates a self-reflexive environment for viewers of the date, mirroring viewers of reality television. I will explore several manifestations of installation for the work, aiming to create an immersive and self-reflexive environment in which to display the work.

CV Summary

b. 1991, Australia

Education

• 2013 Honours, Fine Art, Monash University, Caulfield
• 2012 Bachelor of Visual Art, Monash University, Caulfield

Solo exhibitions

• 2015 Off Camera, Trink Tank, Melbourne
• 2015 The One on One (GoPro), Kings ARI, Melbourne
• 2014 Real Estate (Underwear Hunt), Platform Art Spaces, Melbourne
• 2014 The One on One, Seventh Gallery, Fitzroy
• 2013 RiverBed, Trocadero Art Space, Footscray

Selected group exhibitions

• 2015 Lovers in the Parking Lot, curated by Hana Earles, Artmeet ARI, Melbourne.
• 2015 Disparate, Kingston Arts, Kingston
• 2014 Mr. President, there are three things guaranteed in life. We will all die at some stage, each day the sun will set, and it will rise again tomorrow. Today is just one of those days, curated by Jimmy Nuttall, temporary location, Prospect Lefferts Garden, Brooklyn, NY.
• 2013 MADA Now 2013, Monash University, Caulfield
• 2013 Mildura Palimpsest Biennial #9, Visual Arts Research Studios, Mildura
• 2013 Isn’t it Funny?, Runt Space, Caulfield
• 2013 Honey is Flowing in all Directions, curated by Brook Andrew and Tom Nicholson, Monash University, Caulfield.
• 2012 MADA Now 2012, Monash University, Caulfield

Other projects

• 2015 Off Camera, Screening, Fringe Films, Arts House, North Melbourne

Curatorial roles

• 2014- Present Curator, Trink Tank, Melbourne
• 2012 Committee member, Runt Space Student Gallery, Monash University, Caulfield

Bibliography

• 2013 Mildura Palimpsest #9, Exhibition Catalogue, Arts Mildura, Mildura.

Gallery