Natalia Uryniuk
DANCE OF THE BALTIC ANIMALS
animation / 2017
wall of a residential building, Pułaskiego 19/21
Natalia Uryniuk, an artist proud of her Gdańsk origins and an animal lover especially fond of all water creatures, decided to promote knowledge about Poland’s marine fauna. To this end, she created her Balticarium project: a website about Baltic Sea wildlife written in nine languages.
During the NARRACJE Festival, Uryniuk will present her latest work, Dance of the Baltic Animals – a colourful animation in the shape of a rosette screened on a wall of one of Brzeźno’s housing blocks. Inspired by the natural marine environment and schools of fish creating beautiful compositions of form and colour, the rosette will be filled with images of various creatures – fish, birds, mammals and crustaceans – found in the Baltic Sea. Thereby, the artist refers to Brzeźno’s past of a fishing settlement (the first mentions of local fishermen date back to the 13th century), at the same time warning against the destructive impact of contemporary fishing practices, which may result in the extinction of many species. During NARRACJE, Uryniuk will also hold two workshops for the youngest participants of the festival. Together, they will tell stories about the short-spined sea scorpion, the Chinese mitten crab or the moon jellyfish, and their colourful life in the depths of the Baltic Sea.
Natalia Uryniuk’s animation is carried out as part of the open call for works.
Natalia Uryniuk
is a graphic designer, illustrator, painter, fashion designer and author of educational games for children. She is a PhD student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk and junior lecturer at the Illustration Studio headed by Prof. Jadwiga Okrassa. She has won the award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, scholarships from the Young Poland programme and Escola Superior Artística (Porto, 2011), and a nomination for the Red Rose award for the best students in Pomerania. The artist has taken part in many exhibitions, e.g. in Kuala Lumpur, Warsaw, Cairo, Berlin, Hong Kong, Porto, Beijing or Singapore.