We are thrilled to announce Monika Tichacek’s second solo exhibition at Karen Woodbury Gallery. To all my relations directly relates to the two and a half years Tichacek spent in the jungles, mountains and deserts of South and North America, where she immersed herself in solitude in the natural environment. Here, Tichacek spent extended periods of time in the Amazon experiencing the lifestyles of Shamanic traditions of the native inhabitants. This profound meeting with nature is reflected in this new body of work as the vast mystery of life and the various aspects of human experience are explored.
In To all my relations Tichacek has utilised the process of drawing and sculpture to depict intricate and delicate representations of flora and fauna via an installation and performance, conveying her personal ideas concerning a vast field of existential questions. In doing so, Tichacek urges her audience to consider the transitory nature of our existence in relation to the human understanding and relationship to the natural environment. Her works on paper express gratitude and give a voice to the deep beauty, intricacy and incomprehensible intelligence of the natural world. To all my relations seeks to remind us of our interdependence and interconnectedness within the cosmos.
In 2005, Monika staged her first major solo exhibition, The Shadowers at Artspace, Sydney, the Contemporary Centre of South Australia, Adelaide and the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, with a selection of photographic works exhibited at Sherman Galleries, Sydney and Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne.
Tichacek has participated in numerous group exhibitions, both locally and abroad, including: Horror, Come Darkness (2009), Macquarie University Art Gallery, Sydney; Dark Dreams + Fluorescent Flesh (2009), SASA Gallery, South Australian School of Art, Adelaide; neo-goth: back in black (2008), The University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane; New Deities: Art and the Cult of Celebrity (2008), Mosman Art Gallery and touring; The Vernacular Terrain (2008), IDAprojects, Songzhuang Art Center, China; New Deities: Art and the Cult of Celebrity (2008), Gosford Regional Gallery, Gosford; Anne Landa Award for Video & New Media Arts (winner) (2007), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney and Supernatural Artificial: Contemporary photo-based art from Australia, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan and touring various venues throughout Asia (2004-06).
Monika featured on the cover of Australian Art Collector’s April – June 2005 issue and was included in the publication’s Australia’s Most Collectable Artists (2004).
Among the various grants and awards Monika has received, particularly notable are the Anne Landa Award for Video & New Media Arts, Art Gallery of New South Wales (2007); Kiefer Hablitzel Stipendium from the Kiefer Hablitzel Foundation, Zurich (2002); the Dyson Bequest, Art Gallery of New South Wales (2001); the Helen Lemprière Travelling Arts Scholarship, Ministry of the Arts, New South Wales (2001) and the Basil Muriel Hooper Scholarship, Art Gallery of New South Wales (2000).
