In the exhibition, in the presented video Reminiscentia (2018), I shared fragments of my research, exploring issues related to sculpture and the broadly understood sculptural workshop. This is a private and internal area of interest where the concept for future work arises before touching the material. I mainly rely on my own experience and the acquisition of paper mass from cellulose and recycled paper. From clay models, through gypsum molds, I cast and shape my individual forms using paper mass. In this consistency, I can use paper mass freely, as required by a given project. Controlling the composition, I strive to maintain a symbiosis between the freshness of the drawing and the space of the created form. Paper, due to its compressed mass and color, is durable, while its delicacy manifests in the mysterious emanation of light. It absorbs and reflects light, highlighting the modeled shapes.

For some time now, I have been using dyed paper pulp in my work. The forms are dark, presenting an ambiguous black. In contrast to previous light, almost white works, they are opposites in color. The new technological solution aimed at consolidating the mass. Only with this solution, by dyeing, I was able to unify different materials and tones of the recovered paper. Observing the works from a distance, I achieved a distinction between natural weight versus the illusion of plastic weight. The resulting sculptures have their roots in drawing; I treat sketches as a working tool, keeping a sort of journal where I place comments on reality in the margins of my drawn reflections. Through the coexistence of drawings and recorded content, I reduce the notation, achieving a graphic synthesis, which I then use to work directly on modeling the future sculpture. I work and realize sculptures in cycles of varying relief and spatial characteristics. In this area, the most important place is occupied by the human figure, which is the key narrator between content and the final form of the work.

Tomasz Westrych