Interview: Martyna Majczuk
Luca Curci talks with Martyna Majczuk during BARCELONA CONTEMPORARY 2021, 2nd Edition, at Valid World Hall Gallery.

“I am looking for conceptual solutions. I am interested in phenomena and form, which is a subject of processes. My inspiration is both development and degradation. I reach for the form of conveying content through tattoo, performance and Sumi-e painting. I do not accept the mechanical order of things, which is separated from human intuition and naturalness. I like the asymmetry that expresses the dynamics of becoming the everlasting moment of the universe. I care for life; its laws cannot be calculated but must be discovered on your own. I graduated with a Master of Arts degree with a specialization in Art History and Historical Studies. I have been running the Bodyfikacje Studio in Toruń, Poland for 8 years. Most of my artistic activities are focused on a strictly defined concept that gives freedom of interpretation.”

Luca Curci – What is art for you?
Martyna Majczuk – For me, art is a way of closing, materializing, emphasizing and passing on extraordinary thought processes. It raises questions and stays in us and in the viewer. Actually, I’m creating a performative process in tattooing and painting.

LC – What’s your background? What is the experience that has influenced your work the most?
MM – I am looking for conceptual solutions. I am interested in phenomena and form, which is a subject of processes. My inspiration is both development and degradation. I reach for the form of conveying content through tattoo, performance and Sumi-e painting. I care for life, its laws cannot be calculated but must be discovered on your own. I graduated with a Master of Arts degree with a specialization in Art History and Historical Studies. I have been running the Bodyfikacje Studio in Toruń, Poland for 8 years. Most of my artistic activities are focused on a strictly defined concept.

LC – Did your style change over the years? In which way?
MM – My style was always very emotional. Over the years, it has clarified through my emotional states. There were also periods when I didn’t create for a while. I think that the style in a sense can always be recognized, the variable is what arises around it, and the variables are the additions that define it in a given period of my life. I am 34 years old and I think that many things are still clearing up in me. I know I always have to have a goal, I like artistic processes that are stretched over a timeline.

LC – Where do you find your inspiration?
MM – It may sound banal, but I get inspiration from being on the road and from the processes that take place in nature. The element of water. I like direct contact with this element. You can learn a lot. Accept and learn to be patient. I know many people who would like to achieve a goal or success right away. We live in times when it is difficult for your work to attract someone’s attention for more than 30 seconds. Long-term forward-thinking would probably give us as mankind better results in sustainable development. Nor do I mean to say that life here and now is not important. It is important and beautiful, but to develop requires looking ahead. I am fascinated by the masters of Far Eastern painting. From Ono No Komachi to contemporary creators. Personally, I have the opportunity to contact with the Japanese sumi-e creator Tochun Kobayashi through my Sen Sei Małgorzata (Margot Toh-kou) Olejniczak. Observe how for years you come to technique, practice, and introduce your hand to a specific brush movement. It takes years and brings effects that cannot be replaced by a machine or any other human being because every movement and trace is unique. I am fascinated by these processes and their spontaneous uniqueness. These processes are composed of this spontaneity. These little ones “here and now”, direct these processes. Here I find analogies to the Traces project, which is probably why it is currently the most important conceptual project for me. I also create tattoos on a daily basis that reflect my way of thinking. Individual, spontaneous, open compositions allow for further development. I do not accept the mechanical order of things, which is separated from human intuition and naturalness. I like the asymmetry that expresses the dynamics of becoming the everlasting moment of the universe. I found it in the life process.

LC – What is the most challenging part about creating your artworks?
MM – The most challenging is creating directly on the body. There is no way to return if You make a mistake. Very important is the right concept and decision. Then good experience in creating compositions directly on body and tattoo experience. Similar to ink painting but your trace stays on paper not permanently attached to the body. It’s challenging also because You have to take care not only about your artistic abilities the most important thing is health and safety and Your client’s good mood and confidence. Always first! I create tattoos in an unconventional way, which knocks me out of my daily routine. I’m painting directly on the body and then following the brush tattooing its trace in detail. I deal with abstraction and form. With the emphasis on process and composition, less on a visually defined symbol. I am fascinated by the work of a tattoo artist due to the multifaceted and ambiguous nature of the tattoo process and the direct connection with a human being. I find creating directly on the body difficult but fascinating.

LC – We were attracted by your last artistic production, has the artwork presented been created for the festival or as a part of preexisting works?
MM – The first part of the performative conceptual process “Traces” was created as a performance event at WUK in Vienna. This event was recorded as a video. This film, a 10-minute document of the creation of the first part, was shown at your festival, exhibition. I am glad to be able to show Traces elsewhere in Europe because it is an international project. The next edition is already on 26 / 27.09 in Warsaw, another in autumn in Berlin.

LC – In which way the artwork presented in our exhibition is connected with the festival’s theme?
MM – It’s a Body art performance.

LC- What do you think about ITSLIQUID Platform?
MM – It is a good idea to promote artists more internationally by organizing such themed festivals and exhibitions. At a time when not only young but also experienced artists find it difficult to break through the mechanisms of promotion on the Internet or in the media (which, in fact, are also completely transferred to the Internet). It’s good that there are live events where you can experience art tangibly. It’s good that everyone who wants and presents a certain artistic level can get there.