Building in the Dark at PAPER Gallery

PAPER2 presents: Building in the Dark at PAPER Gallery, Manchester, 13 April–11 May 2019, free entry - Visit now

For her show at PAPER, Alicja Mrozowska presents a new series of deconstructed self-portraits, Building in the Dark. Each individual work is a manipulation of external pieces of ‘home’ that forms a site-specific work in response to the gallery. Made up of separate bricks, Mrozowska’s intervention in PAPER’s second, smaller exhibition space conveys our ability to influence our surroundings, rather than be influenced by them, creating a concept of ‘home’. Brick-like landscapes form spatial planes that reference the artist’s own autobiography, establishing the slippery quality of identity. The work further reflects the constructed aspect of identity that is self-curated and constrained to make it more digestible for others. This process is a projection of Mrozowska’s natural inclination as a maker (a prevalent quality in her family members), which allows the work to speak on her behalf. The ability of her paintings to communicate these sophisticated impulses is an unwavering source of contentment.