Inter
The University Museum in Toruń will present 30 photographs by Basia Sokołowska from four cycles: Interior (1993), Beyond Surface (1994), Ars Moriendi (1998), and Adaptation (2005). These works draw on the tradition of still life, exploring themes such as the duality of dreams and reality, overcoming inner barriers, maturation, transience, the cyclical nature of life and death, and adaptation on multiple levels and in multiple contexts. They reveal the processes of transformation in the artist’s life and psyche, as well as the layered complexity of the surrounding world. Veiled and mysterious, they spark curiosity and unease, resonating emotionally and physically. They create atmosphere, are sincere, and remain open to interpretation. The artist uses collage techniques, creates spatial photographic compositions, emphasizes detail, colour, and texture, and works with staged arrangements.
All works shown in the exhibition are a gift from Basia Sokołowska to the University Museum in Toruń.
Basia Sokołowska was born on March 21, 1961, in Wrocław. She began studying Art History in Warsaw in 1980. In 1981, during a trip to Mongolia and China, she decided not to return to Poland due to the imposition of martial law. She was granted political refugee status and settled in Australia, continuing her studies at the University of Sydney. After graduation, she worked at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, where her passion for photography deepened. She began exhibiting her work in the early 1990s in Australia and Europe. Her main photographic cycles from this period include Carmen Infinitum, Interior, Beyond Surface, Cienie Nieśmiertelności, and Ars Moriendi.
In 1993, she went to Paris on a scholarship, then travelled extensively in Europe before returning to Sydney in 1996, where she began work on the short film The Handbag and the feature screenplay Opowieść Chińska. In 1997, she returned to Warsaw, soon collaborating with interior design and specialist magazines, publishing photographs, articles on photographic art, and exhibition reviews. From 2001, she began teaching at the ZPAF School of Photography and collaborating with the Fototapeta portal.
Opening:
10.10.2025 | 15:00
Exhibition duration:
13.10.2025–13.02.2026
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Friday | 10:00–16:00
NCU University Museum in Toruń