Exhibition View of KOMPLEMENT

When I planned the exhibition of KOMPLEMENT, I sought to create an installation that thematically strengthens the series and helps to understand it. I also considered it important to realize a visual experience that can be enjoyed through personal presence.

I created a wooden structure made of slats, which allows for a view in the middle of the space, between the two walls, thus covering up certain layers. The images are placed on the walls and the structure, so certain views intrude into each other's foreground from a different perspective. In addition to the images, other forms flow into the field of view.

With this masking and layering, I refer to the fact that during the process of cognition and image interpretation, we can encounter numerous influencing factors that help or hinder reception. I also used a similar method when making the images. The interpretation of certain images can be revealed by seeing through the layers. We slide from one frame to another, although we don’t know why at first, but we get an answer by scanning the details. I sometimes explain the interpretation of the images to suggest a hermeneutic approach.

We see a performative sequence on a leporello hanging from the wall, where the artist tries to place herself in the abstract form with her own body, to get to know the formal capabilities.

I got the title KOMPLEMENT from the box of an IKEA product, which means “complement” in Swedish, and at IKEA it is the name of organizing units. I liked that the word can be linked to an organizing logic, so it can be associated with the scanning gaze or the system of interpretation. Complementation as such also refers to the creation and understanding of the series.

Krystyna Bilak is part of Issue 17 by Guest Editor Torbjørn Rødland.

Check out her Artist Feature Let Your Eyes Dance.