Monika Dorniak

Monika Gabriela Dorniak (*1988) 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, specifically on the example of the female body-mind. The ongoing collaboration with dancers underlines her explorations. Her long-term research is on the human body and mind in relation to the environment we inhabit(ed) and the consequences of cultural and technological changes; this is combined with the study of past rituals, and the powerful effects of media on a manipulable consumer society.
Throughout the work of the artist, past, present and future are connected and reviewed through an interdisciplinary lens, where personal examinations merge with scientific research in psychology, philosophy and history. Its rhizomatic results are interpreted through various media, such as performances, (textile) sculptures, workshops, thematic assemblages, videos, photographs, sound plays, drawings and paintings. Her upbringing in an artisanal and agricultural family influenced her practice, as did her German, Polish and Lithuanian roots, marked by the trauma of sociopolitical events.

Since 2012 she has initiated various events connecting disciplines such as art, science, philosophy and psychology, under the name of We Convert Our Mind To Creativity.

As part of Monika G. Dorniak’s interdisciplinary practice, the artist is working in the formats of workshops, lectures, exhibitions, etc., with the intention to connect a wide range of people from different backgrounds, and change the traditional idea of ‘learning’ as a collective. Her research laboratories, or workshops, have been held in a variety of international institutions, such as Tate Exchange in London. Her self-organised events, such as lectures, exhibitions, symposia, etc., have come to realisation in collaboration with cultural and academic institutions, mostly in Germany.

In 2017 she graduated from MA Art and Science at Central Saint Martins, UAL with a dissertation and artistic work about the possibilities for reclaiming the alienated self, and was nominated for the Studiomakers Prize by Tiffany & co. X Outset. Through the past decade she has presented and exhibited internationally and held workshops on the exploration of body and mind at various institutions, such as Tate Exchange at Tate Modern in London and Foreign Affairs Festival at Berliner Festspiele. She was invited as a guest lecturer to Bard College Palestine, Chelsea College London, and other institutions/initiatives.

As a choreographer she has been commissioned by Uma Termas for Oyster Magazine (2018), Baserange (2017), Rory Pilgrim (2014/2015). Her most recent commission (2018-ongoing) is the work on the project Our Blood by Marc Quinn, where she is connecting the voices of refugees with the art work.
She has performed for projects such as Aernout Mik’s Speaking in Tongues at HKW in Berlin, Pauline Oliveros Study Group at Café Oto in London, Matthew Herbert’s Brexit Big Band at HKW in Berlin, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and Auditorium Parca della Musica in Rome, Antje Majewski’s Rausch exhibited in Dresden, and Robert Whitman’s Side Effects in collaboration w/ Arts Catalyst at CSM in London.

Selected interviews
The Ekru Project (2019) w/ Veronica Horwell
Metal Magazine (2017)

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Lecture on Monika Dorniak’s sociopolitical projects and research on trauma as part of Experiencing The Museum, Garage Museum in Moscow (06th of December 2019)