KRISTINA BIEGANSKI

The inspiration for my work is my own background and origins. My parents came to this country after World War 2 as DP’s (displaced people or refugees) from Poland. They made good here. Their fascinating separate stories of survival under bizarre and extreme circumstances has inspired and shaped the look of my work. There is always a new story I haven’t heard before. I have also spent a considerable part of my life in Malta which has been influential visually, particularly the very ornate and extreme catholic church imagery as well as the simplicity of the prehistoric temples. My visits to Poland and the Soviet Union have also inspired me in terms of the austere architecture and graphics. Whenever I travel I gravitate towards buying kitsch toys and religious cheap artifacts. I have a great interest in belief systems whether they be political , religious, scientific or made up. The appearance of my work is reminiscent of post bomb blast or dereliction. Found objects, scraps of life, memorabilia, burnt, fused, melted, new juxtapositions of unrelated objects, photos, graphics the worthless, the collectable, the priceless. New entities, memories and emotions are created. I combine traditional techniques with invented ones using a combination of unexpected materials such as wax, stitch work, sacking, plaster casting and burnt paper with photography and oil paint and guilt frames. There is an element of happy accidents.