“Nature teaches us humility and helps us step back from the idea that humans are the masters of everything and can do anything,” says Dominika Sochacka,…
Izabela TrancygierAugust 1, 20223-minute read
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“Nature teaches us humility and helps us step back from the idea that humans are masters of everything and can do anything,” says Dominika Sochacka, the artist behind ‘Memento Mori’, which won first prize in the 7R Warehouse of Art’s ‘Young Art for the Planet’ competition in the ‘Mural on a Fire Water Tank’ category.
Dominika Sochacka's project consists of two parts that work together and combine technology and nature. They can function independently, but their combined effect is far more powerful.
Beauty and Devastation
The first layer features environmentally friendly paint, which is colorful and depicts the flora and fauna of a forest untouched by humans. The second layer is painted over the first using luminescent paint and is only visible at night after having been exposed to sunlight throughout the day. It depicts the ravaged skeletons of dead animals, burnt-out trees, dried-up riverbeds, and tree stumps left behind after logging.
I wanted to highlight the duality between the beauty of an idealized vision of nature and the grim reality 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 plant and animal species, and the climate crisis is a reality that depends on us and the path we choose,
explains Dominika Sochacka.
Memento
The work is intended to remind us that every human activity has consequences. If the necessary steps are not taken to avert disaster, then this vision of the future does not look promising.
“Nature is an inseparable part of our lives. It affects us at every step we take, but we too leave our mark on it. For me, nature is also important on a personal level, and I enjoy being among flowers and animals. It teaches us humility and allows us to distance ourselves from the notion that man is the master of all and 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 by reaching a wide audience, artists have a significant impact on society in many ways: on social, political, and economic issues, as well as on environmental issues.
What is really important to me is being able to comment on the current situation through my work, regardless of the topic. I hope that through this I can at least encourage people to think. I myself try to live by these principles. For example, I don’t buy brand-name clothes, nor do I drive a car. Even on a small, personal level, I try to avoid harming the environment,
says Dominika Sochacka.
However, she also points out that large companies play a role in this as well, as their activities can harm the environment if they do not take environmental considerations into account.
“So I am very pleased with initiatives such as the 7R Warehouse of Art’s ‘Young Art for the Planet’ competition. What encouraged me to participate was the way it was organized, its theme, and its approach,” the artist noted.
About Warehouse of Art
The 7R Warehouse of Art “Young Art for the Planet” competition was open to students and graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Its guiding motto was “Technology, Ecology, People, Coexistence.” The competition required participants to create a functional art project 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. A total of 26 entries were submitted. The winning projects are available at7rwarehouseofart.pl.
About the author
Author's Bio
Izabela Trancygier
Regional Manager, Central-South Region
Izabela Trancygier serves as Head of the Central-South Region at 7R and is responsible for the company’s business development in the Central-South region. She oversees the leasing and development divisions,…
