Studio 12 exhibition/projects space, First Floor Backwater Artists Group, Wandesford Quay, Cork T12 E26D.
9 April – 7 May 2021. Opens 8 April 6pm
Katrīna Tračuma artist talk and virtual tour of exhibition, 22 April, 1pm. For Zoom invitation email projects@backwaterartists.ie.
The prevailing theme in the work of Katrīna Tračuma is humankind’s estrangement from nature, as viewed through the lens of our relationships with other species. An innate tendency of humans to anthropomorphise fellow animals and the psychology behind that tendency also informs the work. This dysfunctional kinship is explored through the mediums of painting, sculpture, print and installation; using mostly salvaged and reused materials – as maintaining an environmentally friendly artistic practice is an important aspect of the work. Utilising bright pigments and striking colour combinations, to draw attention to this matter in an engaging way, bold brushstrokes are balanced with intricate details in a language of symbolic imagery and metaphors.
The exhibition Beasts presents artwork made between 2016 and 2020. The work is political in nature and will engage the viewer in philosophical considerations towards the daily acts of speciesism.
Born in 1993 in Dobele, Latvia, Katrīna Tračuma grew up traveling extensively throughout Europe and for a short period as a teen she also attended school in Northern Ireland. Awarded the Joan Clancy Gallery Prize for her degree show work at CIT Crawford College of Art and Design, she was also a Commended Entrant, reaching stage 2, of the Global Undergraduate Awards judging process and a winner of the Visual Arts Award at the Galway Fringe Festival in 2018. Katrīna is also a recipient of the Backwater Studios Graduate Residency Award for 2019. Since graduating she has exhibited extensively throughout Ireland, as well as in Russia, Spain, Northern Ireland, and England. Katrīna is currently completing an MA in Fine Art at the Belfast School of Art.
The Holy Trinity (complete triptych view), Katrīna Tračuma, acrylic, ink, oil and transfer medium on canvas, combined dimensions 51-75cm in height and 201cm in length, 2019.
