La Luz de Jesus Presents Magda Trzaski

Magda Trzaski

"Dark Wish"

June 5 - 28, 2009

Magda Trzaski’s casts of animal-inspired characters are enclosed under glass in forestalled activity, as strange and newfound specimens might have been in the Victorian era. Balloons float in mid-air as tiny sculptures of gangly limbed and cracked-skinned creatures balance in limbo of attempted escape and despair. There is a looming sense of life floating away, contained momentarily within the shadow boxes. The intricate figures highlight the dark undertones in Trzaski’s work which is heavily influenced by Dutch Vanitas painters, whose aim was to remind us of the inevitability of death, and the transience and vanity of earthly achievements and pleasures.

“There is a theme/subtext of death, despair and escape with a dose of cynicism and self-deprecation. Even though I don't take these themes lightly, I think there's definitely a sense of humor in the work,” states the artist. Trzaski learned to sew at her grandfather’s tailor shop, on wonderful, vintage, pedal-driven sewing machines, which is probably where her love for antiques and old things-things with history-started. She attended Wexford Collegiate, an art high school in Scarborough, where she studied photography, printmaking, life drawing and sculpture, and where her art interest grew. She studied photography and film in University, where she enjoyed the ability to experiment, attempting animated shorts ala Norman McLaren and Stan Brakhage -painting and/or scratching the film surface or gluing various materials to it. In terms of photography, she always favored still life.

"The whole memento mori thing started when I discovered the early work of photographers Olivia Parker and Frederick Sommer, among others. My thesis project was a photographic quilt: it dealt with the ideas behind putting together a hope chest. During my spare time I made dolls and various creatures, without seeing the potential of incorporating them into my ‘serious’ work” states Trzaski, who currently lives in Toronto, ON with her miniature dachshund where, besides making her characters, she dabbles in the magic of fine art jewelry making.