Tatiana Wolska: Leisure as Resistance

Leisure as Resistance marks Tatiana Wolska's first solo exhibition in the UK. Born in 1977, Wolska utilises recycled materials, evoking the resourcefulness ingrained in her during her childhood in communist Poland, where recycling became a necessity due to the scarcity of goods.

The exhibition showcases her signature recycled bottle sculptures and several new commissions, including scrap wood sculptures, large-scale drawings, monumental makeshift hut and a mural.

Wolska, describing herself as a 'junk collector', breathes new life into discarded plastic bottles, salvaged timber, rusty nails and foam from old mattresses. She transforms these once-polluting materials into captivating sculptures. Wolska's drawings mirror her sculptures, crafted with ink, pen, pencil, and paint, revealing enigmatic forms with ribbed surfaces and folds.

Wolska has designed the space with a strong emphasis on facilitating and promoting meetings, workshops and discussions centred around critical topics such as the regeneration of natural resources, climate crisis or the concept of resistance through leisure. Audiences are invited to activate this space through community activities such as reading groups, knitting clubs, clothes swaps, repair cafés, and meditation-through-drawing sessions. Please bring any gently used clothes, books, and spare seeds to contribute to the exhibition's swap shop.

Leisure as Resistance is curated by Roma Piotrowska.

With special thanks for the loans courtesy l'étrangère, Irène Laub Gallery and the Artist.

Tatiana Wolska, Untitled (module 2), 2019. Photo Amélie Bataille, courtesy the Artist and Irène Laub Gallery and l'étrangère.

Leisure as Resistance is generously supported by the Henry Moore Foundation, The Radcliffe Foundation, and The Roughley Trust. With thanks to Arts Council England and players of People's Postcode Lottery.