The silent sound of dripping, sub rosa. A remnant limb of a worm-holed cherry tree. An entrance, a foyer of iridescent walls, leading us back and forth in time. A pool of growing bodies – glimmering in microscales – acting as reminders of times that have been, or are yet to come.

 

(nonmetaphoric) use of the term ‘participation’ 

 

In a site-specific arrangement, that responds to the architectural memory of ‘In the Closet’, the solo exhibition presents old and new works of Dorniak’s series ‘Aesthetics of Knowledge’ (2019-ongoing). The score ‘Your Body is a Water Vessel’ (2021/2022), for which Dorniak collaborated with sound artist Monty Callaghan, accomponies the installation.

​

Monika Gabriela Dorniak is a German-Polish artist with an interdisciplinary background in choreography, psychology and design, who often merges media – specifically performance, (textile) sculpture and multimedia. In her practice-based research she is exploring the structures of the Self through a multifaceted analysis of body, mind and environment, by taking into consideration the regressive history of the domination of nature, and social power structures. Her auto-biographical research on intergenerational trauma, migration and belonging is carried forward within her ongoing collaborations with scientists and diverse communities, as part of socially engaged commissions, such as Refugee Week and Platforma festival by Counterpoints Arts (2021-2022).

​

As an artist she has presented her works at international institutions, such as National Gallery Vilnius (2023), Drugo More (2022), Uferstudios Berlin (2021), Kommunale Galerie Bärenzwinger (2019), Tate Exchange at Tate Modern London (2017 & 2018), Arts Catalyst (2016), Foreign Affairs Festival at Berliner Festspiele (2014), and as guest lecturer at SOAS University of London (2022), Garage Museum in Moscow (2019), Al-Quds Bard College (2018), and Chelsea College (2017). Dorniak holds a Master Degree in Art and Science (Department Fine Art) from the Central Saint Martins in London (2017).

​

We are thankful Goethe-Institut Litauen for partnership organising this exhibition.