Profile: MARTA RYCZKO artist Last Update:November 8, 2014

Alien/Recognition (Sam), 2011/2014

Toronto-based Marta Ryczko is a multi-disciplinary artist and designer. She does not limit herself to a specific type of media or format; rather, she likes to explore the possibilities of using different materials and techniques. In 2012 she initiated a design-a-day project to last 1000 days.

Ryczko graduated from OCAD University in 2012 and has exhibited work in shows at 1313 Gallery (2013), Cooper Cole Gallery (2012), and Hotshot Gallery (2010) in Toronto, and Spins and Needles in Ottawa (2014), among others.

image: Alien/Recognition (Sam), series of paired photographs, edition of 3. Archival digital print on Epson Premium Luster. 2011.

Selected Work

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The Alien/Recognition series is inspired by the idea that as humans, we try to project our likeness onto things that are mysterious to us. When we imagine aliens or extraterrestrials, we like to be think that they would have the same features as we do: hands, feet, a set of eyes, a mouth. This gives as a sense of comfort, but it also demonstrates that we can only imagine unknown beings or materials based on what we have already seen or learned. We’re not able to imagine something truly otherworldy. Having shot black and white portraits of various subjects, I duplicated, mirrored and overlaid the images to create new creatures. The familiarity of the human form has been transformed into something else entirely, but even as these new beings emerge, the human eye will still search for human likeness.

Artist's Websites http://martaryczko.com http://365.martaryczko.com Design-a-day project initiated January 2012

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