Artist-in-Residence 2009: Joanna Polak

Joanna Polak is a versatile artist from Poland who has made over thirty animation films. She works mostly in the field of an innovatory digital cut-out technique, using both classical cut-out animation and 2D computer graphics techniques. She impels the viewer to undertake his/her own journey, to immerse in the world of artist’s perception, for instance – by displaying a picture simultaneously on a number of surfaces (walls), making video installations that invite to be touched. She plays with the viewer’s imagination by telling ostensibly simple stories, often with a hint of humour, embellished with simple drawings.  Frequently, a film causes spontaneous outburst of laughter, and an expression of smile congeals on viewer’s face long after the end. This is because films contain hidden meanings – senses remaining neutral for incidental observers, but illuminating and genuinely valuable for conscious recipients. The author focuses on that special quality of animated, moving pictures in her research on film therapy. Any given film can have relaxing or irritating effect – that depends on its viewer. The author uses various media for her exhibitions and displays, accordingly to the content she wants to deliver to recipients.