HELLO MAGDA, GREAT TO HAVE YOU BACK AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING 4BYSIX WITH THEIR FIRST AUCTION OF 2026! TO START, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF YOUR ART PRACTICE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAYERING OF TATTOO-LIKE IMAGERY?

I’ve been interested in the human body for as long as I can remember, but my work comes from a mix of influences that I’ve taken in since childhood. I grew up in Poland in the 90s and early 2000s, surrounded by western pop culture, cartoons, games, and graffiti that brightened otherwise grey streets. These images and sounds often stayed with me. My tattoo-like imagery comes from such fragments of reality that I collect and layer into a dense mesh.

HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT CHOOSING THE TATTOO DESIGNS? DO THEY PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN SHAPING THE NARRATIVE AND EMOTIONAL TONE OF THE WORK?

I don’t select them as fixed symbols, but they reflect the fragmented and multifaceted reality we all live in. I like to collect pop culture trash, images and symbols found on the streets, on the internet, or on the everyday products that I use. When I think of my environment, it feels like a vague, overlapping flow of images. Tattoos are traditionally linked to identity, and I would say this is a part of my cultural background. They are about how bodies absorb and express this mix of images, sounds and sensations, becoming complex characters.

DO YOU THINK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY IN YOUR WORK? THIS CAN BE IN THE LITERAL AND/OR METAPHORICAL SENSE.

Painting itself isn’t an ecologically sustainable practice, and I won’t pretend that it is. What I do hope is that my works can hold some meaning and energy that will stay with people longer than an Instagram story.

THE SUBJECTS IN YOUR PAINTINGS ARE OFTEN PORTRAYED WITH DELIBERATE DISTORTIONS AND COMPLEX ANGLES. WHAT MOTIVATES THIS APPROACH, AND HOW DOES IT RELATE TO YOUR PERCEPTION OF IDENTITY, PERCEPTION, OR SOCIETAL PRESSURES?

I think of them as distorted mirror reflections or dreams. They show body images - internal, subjective visions influenced by emotions, personal history and pressures that society puts on us. But for me body image isn’t just about appearance. It’s like a psychological body portrait that’s constantly changing depending on context. Our self-perception is never accurate anyway. We see only projections filtered through internal and external forces. I want to show my characters as if they were caught in transition, seeking their identity and freedom. Nothing here is real, fixed or final, although it’s sometimes very vivid.

YOU PREVIOUSLY WORKED WITH 4BYSIX ON THEIR PLASTIC PANELS IN WHICH YOU DESCRIBED THE PROCESS AS LAYERING ONE KIND OF PLASTIC MEMORY OVER ANOTHER. HOW DID WORKING ON THE TARPAULIN COMPARE?

Again, you pushed me into trying something a bit different, and I’m really glad you did! It opened me up to small formats that I’d always avoided. At first the tarp felt awkward because of uneven surface that didn’t really vibe with my blurry aesthetic. I cut out the smoothest fragment and stretched it onto a tiny frame. I told myself I’d just squeeze into this small format and somehow it clicked. I actually loved working small! I’ve already ordered more tiny stretchers because I want to keep exploring it. Sometimes discomfort turns out to be inspiring.

CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE PIECE YOU HAVE MADE FOR US? LIKE YOUR PREVIOUS PIECE, INSPIRED BY YOUR EXPERIENCE WITHIN NATURE, WERE THERE ANY SPECIFIC EVENTS OR EMOTIONS WHICH STRONGLY INFORMED THE DIRECTION OF THE PIECE?

„Rainbow” shows the simple joy of being present in my body. Random moment of happiness, where you just feel alive because you’re moving, breathing, existing with no shame, no overthinking. Over the past months I’ve been learning to listen to my body instead of detaching from it, to stop over-conceptualizing and start inhabiting it. I used my body a lot for climbing, hiking and running and began to see it more as a living machine, built for action and sensation rather than representation. I wanted this piece to feel like a rainbow in the clouds - something that creates a small, primal sense of joy.

FINALLY, OVERALL, HOW DID YOU FEEL YOUR 2025 WAS AND WHAT ARE THE MAIN PROJECTS YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT AS WE VENTURE INTO 2026?

Last year was about reconnection - with myself, my body, nature, my friends and family. I stepped back a bit from social media and the art world. I was still working, but without the pressure to constantly show or perform. After a few very intensive years I needed that distance to reassess what actually matters to me. From March I’m stepping back into exhibiting more actively. Looking forward to it!