Alicja Ostrowska

Artist Statement

We all are animals… waiting to be freed.

My work focuses on perception: of time, events, and behaviour. It is an analysis of the human-animal connection with focus on the link between humans and birds.

In my work I comment on the meaning of the ongoing animal cruelty and I recognize the connection between the people living and/or being kept in isolation and the household livestock.

As an animal you can exist only in a given space. And no matter how comfortable, that space becomes your prison, if you have no ability to go out. You can only have a walk or a daily exercise for time established by your owner. You live a satisfying life within four walls. You see the same faces and hear the same voices every day.

Concept of time disappears; no rush is needed, just hours passing, without meaning.

Major part of my practice is recognizing emotions felt and shared during conversations with people and the underlying messages that they carry.

We are all vulnerable observers of events that we have no power over. In time of pandemic, I catch myself watching birds through my windows, flying free without any restraint, without any fear.

I find it ironic that the roles are now reversed, and we are the trapped ones.

I link my work with songs, poems, and quotes that I find inspiring. Starting with painting and finishing with digital manipulation, I want to share the sharp images and clean lines focusing on the message: we are all animals, we all want to be free.