preserve_konserwe

A new site specific installation by artists Ruth Miemczyk and Louise Severyn-Kosinska inspired and informed by their Polish heritage. Anglo / Polish artists Louise Severyn-Kosinska and Ruth Miemczyk come together to present an exhibition that explores the dimensions of living within two worlds. The work in the exhibition seeks to interpret their experiences of growing up with a consciousness of other selves; where memories are brought out and handed down, repeated, re-imagined and retold.

The image shows wall hangings that drape from the ceiling, there are rows and lists of names that ascend each hanging in black hand writing.

Installation shot, Louise Severyn-Kosinska and Ruth Miemczyk, preserve_konserwe, (Photo credit: David Chalmers)

When: 18th May – 25th July 2021
Where: Woodend Gallery, Woodend Creative Space, Scarborough, YO11 2PW
Opening Times: Tuesday – Friday, 10am-5pm.
Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm.

 

The artists’ work addresses the impact of changing borders, with vast movements and displacement of peoples, concealed through anonymity and the universal. However, by revealing fragmentary remnants of lost lives, they convey an intimate and intensely personal sense of the elements that bind us to who we are.

Ruth Miemczyk and Louise Severyn-Kosinska were born in England, two artists, one from the north and one from the south. They met in Poland 20 years ago on an East meets West artist’s symposium at Dwor Karwacjanow, a gallery in the south east of Poland, in an area of almost mythical stories around the Lemkow people who lived in the foothills of the mountains of Bieszczady. Both Ruth and Louise had Polish fathers who had been sent to Siberia as very young men during the Second World War and then came to England following a route across many countries to reach England and both married English women. From this early discussion the artists found they had much in common and that this reflected in their work, both working with ideas of duality, works of two halves, and equally fascinated by ambiguous connections and shifting landscapes.

Access
Venue is wheelchair accessible, with accessible bathroom and changing facilitates. For more information about the venue head to the Woodend website: https://www.woodendcreative.co.uk  Large print captions are available from the front desk at Woodend.

Crescent Arts – Covid-19 measures

We take the health and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and collaborators very seriously and when making plans for the re-opening exhibitions to the public, we have worked to ensure that the measures we put in place are rigorous and easy to follow. The below guidance should be read by anyone planning on visiting the exhibition

-All visitors are required to follow the procedures signposted at Woodend.

-Anyone with the NHS Track and Trace app are encouraged to scan the QR code to check into Woodend.

-We ask all visitors to wear a mask whilst in the building to help reduce the risk of spreading the infection. The only exceptions to this are if some visitors have underlying health conditions that may be affected by the use of a mask.

-Our processes are under constant review and we want to hear about your experience of visiting our gallery and art spaces in general at the moment.

Photography by David Chalmers

PDF exhibition booklet download here
preserve_konserwe Exhibition Booklet

An image of the gallery space, one half is the intersection of the green gallery wall, and the other half is of the yellow intersection, white stencils ascend and dot the wall whilst a brown semi circle rests against the intersection. The green intersection has coat hooks that ascend the gallery wall with a hat resting on the first top hook.
The image shows a close up of a foldable semi circle side table, the table is lined with a dark green vinyl. The items include a small crystal glass, next to that is a brown playing cards box and a twig off an evergreen tree and two red playing cards with a tradtional hatch pattern on. There is also some white lace in the table, on top of that rests a small leather shoe which looks handmade, and two cards with beautiful colourful Polish illustrations on them, one of a night kneeling and the other of a fantasy creature. On top of that rests the corner of an old browned map, presumably of a part of Poland, and then in the corner rests the edge of crystal ash tray.
The image is an intersection of two yellow gallery walls, there is a brown semi circle folding table resting against the wall closest to the camera. There are interesting stencils that have been printed onto the wall in white.
The image shows a coat hook attached to the intersection of a green wall, there is a hat on the coat hook with a light highlighting it, which casts a shadow down the wall. There is also a single stencilled print of a bird in the left hand corner of the image.
The image shows a white gallery wall, with a single shelf running through the middle of the image. There are an array of jars resting on the shelf, filled with small objects such as cloth, moss, twigs and paper.
The image is of a row of mason jars resting on a glass shelf, in each jar is a small object or snippet of ephemera.
The image shows rows of Polish names written in dark handwriting on opaque cellophane wall hangings.
An image of the gallery space, one half is the intersection of the green gallery wall, and the other half is of the yellow intersection, white stencils ascend and dot the wall whilst a brown semi circle rests against the intersection. The green intersection has coat hooks that ascend the gallery wall with a hat resting on the first top hook.
The image shows a close up of a foldable semi circle side table, the table is lined with a dark green vinyl. The items include a small crystal glass, next to that is a brown playing cards box and a twig off an evergreen tree and two red playing cards with a tradtional hatch pattern on. There is also some white lace in the table, on top of that rests a small leather shoe which looks handmade, and two cards with beautiful colourful Polish illustrations on them, one of a night kneeling and the other of a fantasy creature. On top of that rests the corner of an old browned map, presumably of a part of Poland, and then in the corner rests the edge of crystal ash tray.
The image is an intersection of two yellow gallery walls, there is a brown semi circle folding table resting against the wall closest to the camera. There are interesting stencils that have been printed onto the wall in white.
The image shows a coat hook attached to the intersection of a green wall, there is a hat on the coat hook with a light highlighting it, which casts a shadow down the wall. There is also a single stencilled print of a bird in the left hand corner of the image.
The image shows a white gallery wall, with a single shelf running through the middle of the image. There are an array of jars resting on the shelf, filled with small objects such as cloth, moss, twigs and paper.
The image is of a row of mason jars resting on a glass shelf, in each jar is a small object or snippet of ephemera.
The image shows rows of Polish names written in dark handwriting on opaque cellophane wall hangings.

About The Artists

Ruth Miemczyk
After graduating from Central School of Art and Design and Goldsmiths University in London, Ruth has been a practicing artist for over forty years. As well as achieving around twenty solo shows, including two major solo exhibitions in Poland, she has taken part in group shows, artist residencies and arts festivals in the UK, Poland, Slovakia, France and Italy. Over this time, Ruth has designed and run painting and drawing courses and has led a diverse range of workshops, from traditional painting techniques and materials, to contemporary drawing practices. In addition, she has extensive experience in exhibition curation and installation.

@ruthmiemczyk

Louise Severyn-Kosinska
Working as a practicing artist, Louise has been exhibiting in the UK and internationally with installations, drawings, paintings and site specific work in both gallery and non-gallery spaces, sculpture parks in England, France, Poland, Slovakia and Holland. She delivers art and stained glass workshops and lectures , and curated exhibitions of printmakers from Poland, Belarus and Ukraine following participation in East meets West artist symposiums.
Public commissions include St Nicholas Church, Sutton, Dulwich College Prep
School, London and Fondation Barguillere, Serres sur Arget, France.
Artist residencies in France and in Poland led to collaboration with other artists and are a development from being a member of Bigos, Artists of Polish Origin, whose work is held in the Tate archives.

@severynkosinska

This exhibition is kindly supported by:

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