Português
In between September 19th and December 21st I participated in Pivô Research program, where I had the opportunity to execute projects in the public space of São Paulo.
My initial project didn’t have any particular form or plan. My participation assumed maximum openness to the situation as well as to the redefinition of my artistic language. The main idea oscillated around the notion of being new in a place, bringing the position of a “Visitor” into broader interpretation. Soon after my arrival I understood that bringing my narration to such enormous scale city with so many visible problems would require a change in my strategy.
Most of my time I’ve spent on the streets, observing the reality and architecture of São Paulo instead spending it in the studio. My intention was to bring works that could interact with the city. Over the period of residency, I did two projects in the public space.
First of them entitled “Possibility of dialogue” was based on the forms observed on the streets and referred to the lack of the real communication in between the groups of interest. Second one entitled “Point of reference” was linked directly to the scale of the city and the possibility of being lost in the turmoil – physical and political. Both projects were created as parts of the city – to erode and eventually disappear in the landscape of São Paulo.
Apart from the interventions, I had great opportunity to be involved in a dialogue with the artist Marcelo Cidade and a collaboration with the artist Clara Ianni.
Materials that I gathered during my walks in the city are included in my photography project entitled “Our cities were built to be destroyed.
Pivô itself prepared great conditions for my work and helped with connections in the local art world. The possibility to live and work in São Paulo, even for a short period of two months was a great for me. For many years I’ve been interested in contemporary art from Brazil; being able to contribute in its artistic landscape was of great importance for my artistic growth.
The residency of Wojtek Kostrewa was supported by IAM – Culture.pl