Malgorzata Mirga-Tas “Re-enchanting the World” Pavilion of Poland Venice Biennale Art Exhibition

Malgorzata Mirga-Tas was born in 1978 in Romania; she lives and works in Poland and Romania. Her works are exhibited in the Poland Pavilion of the Giardini Biennale.

It consists of twelve huge textile frames that refer to the Renaissance frescoes of the “Cycle of the Months” in the large living room of Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara, Italy.

Frescoes, whose meaning is intimately linked to the Neoplatonic ideas of the time (1470) and astrology.

This cycle of the months of Ferrara connects the sanctity of the cosmic order with that of agriculture.

Finally, you can see the gods of Olympus and the zodiac signs integrated into the scenes of everyday life at the court of the Duke of Ferrara.

In this work, Malgorzata Mirga-Tas, a women's rights activist, wanted to refer both to her own Romanian origins and the place of women in her country's society.

For this reason, the paintings in “Re-enchanting the World” consist of a patchwork of glued and sewn fabrics mainly from women's clothing: pieces of skirts, scarves, blouses, etc.

The twelve paintings by Malgorzata Mirga-Tas are each divided into three horizontal sections.

The upper section represents the journeys of Romanians across Europe.

The central section represents the history of Romania from a female perspective.

The third, lower section shows scenes from the artist's contemporary daily life in his village in Poland and in other Polish places close to his heart.

In this part, Malgorzata Mirga-Tas focuses on showing us women's relationships, alliances, and daily activities.

Finally, the artist wanted to integrate in his work “Re-enchanting the World” the idea of transnationality, cycles and evolution of mentalities and ideas related to the confrontation of Romanian, Polish and European cultures.

Malgorzata Mirga-Tas, Re-enchanting The World