​Izabela Kowalczyk

Reliefs, 2019 – 2023

 

In the Reliefs series I observe our mechanisms of perception by questioning the border between the flat image and the volume.

Our way of perceiving space and depth, which seems so natural to us, is in fact a result of our very first sensory experiences, and so a learning effect.

An attempt to play with our visual habits led me to replace the usual support for my paintings (paper or canvas) with a wood board. I literally deepened the dissociation of the background and the form of my images, cutting out the form from the background and hanging it a few centimeters from the wall. The forms hover on the wall which in turn becomes the new background.

 

In the recent Reliefs I fixed two pieces of wood board one on another. Thanks to an optic illusion effect its form refers to a fully 3D form  object seen in perspective,  while, in fact, it is flat. The traditional linear perspective, which has been slightly distorted, causes a visual game, questioning the spectator about his perception.

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The thickness of a few centimeters places the questioned entity in the category of volume. However, it can be interpreted both as a three-dimensional object, and, at the same time, as an image of the object in question.