The future day and night
“Nature teaches us humility and allows us to distance ourselves from the kind of thinking that man is master of all and that he can do anything,” says Dominika Sochacka, the artist behind ‘Memento Mori’, which was awarded first prize in the 7R Warehouse of art ‘Young art for the planet’ in the ‘Mural on a fire water tank’ segment.
The project by Dominika Sochacka comprises two parts that work together and combine technology and nature. They can both work separately but have much greater power in combination.
Beauty and devastation
The first picture is a layer the uses environmentally paint, which is colourful and presents the flora and fauna of a forest undisturbed by man. The second layer is painted over the first in luminescent paint and can only be seen at night after having been shone on by the sun throughout the day. It shows the ravaged skeletons of dead animals, burnt down trees, dried-up river beds and tree stumps after felling.
I wanted to show the dualism of the beauty of an illustratively idealised vision of nature with an implacable vision of the destruction that awaits us if we do not take radical steps to prevent climate change. The human race has caused the extinction of many species of plants and animals and the climate crisis is a fact that is dependent on us and the road we choose,
explains Dominika Sochacka.
Memento
The work is intended to remind us that every human activity has consequences. If the appropriate steps are not taken to avoid catastrophe, then this vision of the future does not look encouraging.
“Nature is an inseparable part of our lives. It affects us at every step we take but we too make our mark on it. For me nature is also important on a personal level and I like to be among flowers and animals. It teaches us humility and allows us to distance ourselves from the kind of thinking that man is master of all and that he can do anything. Nature influences my work even when it is not directly visible. Much of my work is created when I am surrounded by it,” says the artist.
Comment and act
She believes that through reaching out to a large number of people, artists have a huge effect on society on many levels: such as on the level of social, political, and economic issues as well as on the environmental level.
What is really important to me is to be able to comment through my work on the current situation regardless of the topic. I hope that through this I can at least encourage people to think. I myself try to live by these rules. For example I don’t buy branded clothes nor do I drive a car. Even on a small personal level I try to avoid doing harm to the environment,
states Dominika Sochacka.
However, she also emphasises that large companies also play a part in this whose activities may harm the environment if they don’t pay attention to the environment.
“So I am very pleased by initiatives such as the 7R Warehouse of art ‘Young art for the planet’ competition. What encouraged me to take part was the way it was organised, its theme and it approach,” pointed out the artist.
About Warehouse of Art
The 7R Warehouse of art ‘Young art for the planet’ competition was open to students and graduates of Warsaw’s Academy of Fine Arts. Its guiding motto was “Technology, Ecology, People, Coexistence”. The competition requirement was to create a project of utility art with an ecological theme in one of three categories: Ergonomic seating, murals on the side of a fire water tank and an ecological 7R gadget. In total, 26 entries were submitted. The awarded projects are available at 7rwarehouseofart.pl.
