Christine Gornowicz is an interdisciplinary artist based in south London. Etching, screen-printing, mono-printing, 3D work and textiles all come together to form Gornowicz’s extensive portfolio. Throughout her career, Gornowicz’s use of medium has developed and varied, but at the core of her practice has always been an interest in the value of objects. Whether found or created, assembled or stripped back, objects are used by Gornowicz as a way of questioning how and why we perceive things the way we do.
Materiality and medium are never overlooked but instead are considered at every stage of her practice. In making the ephemeral permanent and the mass-produced distinctive, Gornowicz creates work that simultaneously challenges our understanding of value and our relationship with materiality.
Q&A with Christine Gornowicz
Talk us through your process of creating work.
Most of my practice has stemmed from working with textiles. I started off as a fashion buyer, so I have always had an interest in fabric and materiality. After working with materials for around 8 years, I started branching out into other medium and gradually my work became more concept led. From here, my thoughts and feelings would come through and find themselves expressed in whatever medium seemed appropriate, whether that be etching, weaving or even using found objects.
What role do found objects play in your practice?
Where objects are found, it’s often a case of adding or changing the value of them. That’s another reason my process has always seemed to be material-based, as I am constantly drawn to question the existing value of objects and what value can be altered.
Do you typically start your work with an idea in mind?
The ideas always seem to come first, then the expression of these ideas follow. When I look back over the work I’ve done throughout the years, there is a common thread of finding expression through different medium. Sometimes I can’t help but get engrossed in a process and as I continue with the process, the same themes always make themselves apparent.
How long do you usually spend on each piece? Do you find it depends on the medium you’re working in?
Yes, it completely depends. Take for example, the 3D piece with the balloons in water. That happened in about half an hour, which really surprised me. When there’s a natural flow of what you need to do, it can all come out so naturally and quickly.
Talk us through you weaving process.
Weaving is very time consuming, so if I’m working on that, there’s not much time to spend on anything else. With weaving I’ve always worked with linen because linen is the fabric that artists who paint, paint on. So, to draw an analogy to painting, I’ve stuck to linen and to plain weave. I’ve always wanted to keep it simple and stick to this because of the associations to the canvas.
Who and what are your current influences and your greatest influences?
All along, it has been the abstract expressionists. With my earlier weavings, it was Barnett Newman with his stripes and his zip lines, along with the more gestural brushstrokes of the abstract expressionist action painters. Recently, it’s been more of Pollock, specifically in his process and the way he involves his body when painting.
Agnes Martin is also a huge inspiration due to the influence meditation and yoga have on her work. They play a big part in my practice and in my life, so I am always fascinated in how other artists use them within their work. The linear nature of Martin’s paintings also resemble the compositions of weavings, as well as with their lighter colours and faded tones.
Is there a particular medium you are constantly drawn to?
I keep coming back to fabric and funnily enough, towels and teas towels. There’s just something about a tea towel, in its shape and the way it hangs, but also in what it is and what it stands for. It’s often disregarded, and I have always found it a good metaphor for changing something’s value depending on its context. And that’s what my work has largely always been about; changing something’s context and value, and in doing so, changing the way it is perceived.