EMILIA JECHNA            

Emilia Jechna (born in 1994) is a Polish paintress and set designer, holding a Master’s degree in Painting (Academy of Fine Arts in Breslau) and Bachelor degree in Art Therapy. After moving to Berlin in 2021, she opened her first solo show in Germany, „What Narcissus Saw”  (April 2023), after completing Art Residency at Somos Arts. 

                  „Today, the artist’s primary mode of inspiration is drawn from using her body as an artistic tool. Each of her works centers around first imprinting various parts of her body onto the canvas, inverting Yves Klein’s use of women as a brush, a tool, into a gesture of autonomy and agency. 

She crafts a distinctive artistic narrative from there, constructing otherworldly abstracted scenes. Executed primarily on black canvas, Emilia’s dream-like pieces are created through instinct, constantly conversing with the work as it comes to be: “When I paint, my silhouette becomes a part of my creation, allowing me to make it into anything I want to.” 

                  Emilia rejects traditional perceptions of the female body and creates her works from a position of agency, constructing her own empowered version of the myth, as she includes herself into each story both physically and conceptually. Through a literal embedding of herself into each piece, Emilia navigates her psyche before building upon her imprints and creating a new narrative.”  (by Somos Arts)

ARTIST STATEMENT 

Being a painter is such a huge part of being me, it’s both my biggest treasure and a curse. It’s my way of expression, but also the reason I’m disconnecting from the outside world sometimes; hiding in my secret place, between large-scale canvases. I rarely sketch or plan my work beforehand - the excitement of not knowing what will happen on my canvas allows me to be unfettered and that soon becomes the biggest prize painting has to offer. I fail and conquer, sometimes I have to fight to keep going, but in the end, when my work is finished, I always know that it’s worth it. 

The greatest brush is my own body. Imprinting myself on the canvases allows me to connect with the painting and become part of it, which has a soothing effect, almost like a therapy. The relationship between me and my body has been very difficult throughout the years. When I paint, my silhouette becomes a part of my creation allowing me to make it into anything I want to. That process has made me accept my body more, whether it’s skinnier or a bit bigger sometimes. For the painting itself it doesn’t really matter, it’s always inspirational, with a potential to become beautiful, or scary, exciting, strange. 

My creative process is profoundly influenced by Lou Andreas Salome’s interpretation of the story of Narcissus. She pointed out that our apathy towards him might be a result of a common misunderstanding of the myth rather than him objectively being a one-dimensional and a conventionally bad and shallow character. I found her explanation by accident (in a book by Grazyna Krupinska) and found it really fascinating. It has completely changed my perspective and stuck with me ever since. 

Lou Andreas Salome pointed out that Narcissius wasn’t just always laser-focused on himself – instead, when he saw his reflection on the water, he realized he’s a fragment of the world that surrounded him. Behind his face was the sky with the clouds in various shapes and the birds flying above the mountains; his cheeks were surrounded by trees, below his chin - there were blossoming flowers. His excitement came from the realisation that he is indeed a piece of the world that he had been exploring since the beginning of his life. All of the magic he's experienced, the beauty he’s seen on Earth and the unreachable stars - all of this is incomplete without his existence. He finally sees himself not only as a passive observer, but as an essential participant, as life itself. 

I want my paintings to be what the surface of the water was for Narcissus.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS: 

03/2017 – Group Exhibition in Władysław Hasior Museum, Zakopane, Poland 
07/2018 – Group Exhibition in Czest Gallery, Częstochowa, Poland 
07/2022 – Postawy VIII, Mia Art Gallery, Breslau, Poland 
08/2022 – Reflections, Studio Zamieszanie, Warsaw 
04/2023 – What Narcissus Saw, Somos Arts, Berlin
08/2023 – Beyond Contemporary, Get Preise, Berlin
11/2023 – Body Alchemy, Haze Gallery, Berlin

SET DESIGN 

‘Feierabend’ etude by Michalina Medyńska 
‘Familienzeit’ etude by Michalina Medyńska 
‘Supper’ etude by Julia Dziworska 
‘Bodily responses’ short by Emma Lindahl 
‘Utrata Równowagi’ feature film, dir. Korek Bojanowski 
‘Cicho coraz ciemniej’ dir. Joanna Różniak

Education 

2019 – 2021 MA, Painting, Academy of Fine Arts in Breslau 
2016 - 2019 BA, Art Therapy, Academy of Special Needs Education in Warsaw 
2015- 2016 Diploma in Scenography Techniques, Studium of Scenography Techniques in Warsaw 

PRESS

https://somos-arts.org/emilia-jechna/
https://somos-arts.org/emilia-jechna-what-narcissus-saw/
https://www.mae.community/magazine/a-conversation-with-emilia-jechna
‘Listener’ printed magazine, South Korea, 2023

WORKS [ Selection ]

All the works can be purchased here