Kamila CK is an Interdisciplinary visual artist based in the UK, specializing in performance (aerial circus and physical theatre), abstract painting, and Japanese Zen calligraphy. Born in Poland, Kamila has lived and worked in the UK since 2007. Holding a Master’s Degree in International Hospitality Management, and working in marketing, at age 33 she fully embraced her artistic leaning. Since studying at Slade School of Fine Arts in London and completing a Professional Course in Circus Arts with AirCraft Circus Academy, London, she’s never looked back. We had the opportunity to discuss her work current projects, and more!
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. You have a background in hospitality management and marketing. What drew you to a career in the arts?
Hello, thank you for having me, I am delighted to share my journey. I have always been fascinated with the arts and movement but becoming an artist was never something I initially planned. Not until recently at least. I grew up in Lublin, Poland in the 90s, a small regional town with little artistic opportunities at the time. Art subjects in my school were very limited, however, I always had an interest in it and I remember buying books about famous artists and painters and spending hours reading.
During 2016 whilst living in London, having spent 9 years building my career and studying in the hospitality industry, I started to realise how much art meant to me. During this time I embarked on a self-development intuition course that made me more conscious of my life path. During this time my journey as an artist really started. I left my full-time job as marketing head for hotels and became a freelance marketing consultant for the arts industry working with London art venues, galleries, and circus performance schools. I would spend my free time in galleries and museums in London whilst also taking painting, dance/movement & circus classes to immerse myself in the creative arts that interested me.
You studied at Slade School of Fine Arts in London and completed a Professional Course in Circus Arts with AirCraft Circus Academy, London. Please tell us more about these institutes, your experiences, and how they shaped your multidisciplinary practice.
They were both very instrumental in shaping my interdisciplinary practice I have arrived at today.
Aircraft Circus in 2019 was a huge milestone after taking dance and aerial training for 3 years. The institution is London’s oldest private circus school and runs an intensive 6-month full-time professional course covering the foundations of aerial and circus performance. The experience gave me a chance to grow into a professional performer and develop and show my very first solo work (on aerial hoop). What was obvious, it made me realize that traditional circus wasn’t my direction. Because I am an artist, I wanted to use aerial movement in a contemporary art context”. I like building visual storytelling and immersive art experiences.
After my time with AirCraft focused on aerial movement and dance, I wanted to take my skills in painting to the next level. The Slade School of Fine Arts (part of University College London), is known as one of the world’s best art departments, and alongside degrees also runs professional courses for adults. At that time I was particularly interested in colors and found that they offered a specific 6-month course on this subject. This experience connected me with some amazing artists and expanded my creative thinking in terms of painting and my perception of myself as an artist. Unexpectedly, it also allowed me the opportunity to perform with Slade School at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London in early 2020 before the pandemic hit. This was a true highlight for me, allowing me to not only work in the theatre but also work with various Slade students from Masters and Bachelor’s degrees, the level of innovation and creativity was very inspirational.
You’ve visited Japan and collaborated with Japanese artist Rie Takeda. Please tell us more about studying Japanese Zen calligraphy and working under Takeda’s tuition.
The connection to Japan is very strong in my work and also in me as an artist. From an early age, I have always been attracted and inspired by Japan, its aesthetics, spiritual qualities, ancient arts & culture, and the language. My first visit in 2018 allowed me to spend 3 weeks in Kyoto immersing myself in the culture and doing my own artistic research. I took lessons in Zen calligraphy, ikebana, tea ceremony, practiced my Japanese, and lived in multiple temples to have access to painted masterpieces on the walls. I came back a year later in 2019 to explore a wider area geographically including Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, the iconic Mijajima, and North of Honshu. Both trips proved very fruitful and fuelled my painting and body movement practice in terms of subjects, colors, and themes. I was especially fascinated by the spiritual practice of Zen painting in black ink known as shodo or Japanese Zen calligraphy.
I loved the concept of painting things in one masterstroke, with no corrections afterward. I embarked on taking online courses in this field to integrate it into my own art practice. At that time, the pandemic lockdown forced a lot of artists and teachers to innovate and move their teachings online. This was when I found Japanese artist Rie Takeda who was teaching her method of Japanese Zen calligraphy, connecting the body, mind, and spirit. It fascinated me that her teachings were not designed to achieve the perfect shape or outcome, instead, the focus is on the process and working with our own energy that is channeled on paper. In essence, it is a very spiritual movement/energy-based practice that allows for many amazing synchronizes and surprises in the moment of creation. It naturally became an integral part of my interdisciplinary practice.
I have been learning under Rie Takeda (link: https://www.rietakeda.com/) since 2020, she has been instrumental in helping me understand various Zen concepts including the Enso Circle symbol (now at the core of my interdisciplinary practice), helping me choose the right tools and materials (like buying a huge performative Japanese brush). We are currently planning a collaboration centered around Enso which will be transformed into a poem painted on my body, more details will be coming soon!
Looking back at your career, is there a particular event/ performance you’re most proud of and, if so, why?
What comes to mind first is the development and performance of “Odyssey of the Circle” in collaboration with French audio-visual duo “Lola and Yukao Meet” in November 2022. This gave me an opportunity to collaborate with a digital artist who utilized live projections and live drawings to compliment my aerial movements in the hoop while his wife, a musician, composed an original score using electric cello, vocals, and musical looping. The work was a 25-minute innovative and immersive interdisciplinary performance taking viewers on a journey through circular forms (including aerial hoop and digital moon) culminating with with my very first live painting of Enso on a large scale and as part of the performance. It was my richest experience yet, developed in the shortest amount of time (7 day residency together in France), the longest work so far (25min), and the most multi-layered due to the richness of our collaboration. The trailer and photography of the performance are available online on my website https://www.emergingvisions.art/ensodyssey
Your current exhibition The Word Needs More Art” runs from 6th November – 7th March 2024. Can you share more about the show’s origins and what visitors can expect?
This is the second exhibition that I am organizing in Lincoln, UK at No. 2 Boutique Art Townhouse; my hospitality concept of staying with inspiring art. I launched it in early 2023 as a boutique stay combined with an art gallery in a 3-bedroom Victorian townhouse. As an artist with a hospitality background, it has always been my dream to create art-enriched stays that provide people with visual stimuli for the eyes, mind, and the soul. After exhibiting my works in London and internationally, it is also nice to have my own gallery space where I can experiment and curate experiences for visitors. A rotating programme of exhibitions changes every 4-6 months.
The current exhibition “The World Needs More Art” explores using art as a tool to reconnect with the self and our human journey to better face what is happening around us. At a time when we face multiple crises including global warnings, international wars, natural disasters and our own mental health, the exhibition aims to connect viewers to their own internal stability, spirit as well as collective imagination. Using the universal symbolism of the circle, artistic metaphors, and color combinations my intention is to allow the guest/viewer to raise their vibration and perception of the world. The exhibition features over 15 artworks across various mediums including performance videos, Zen action paintings, colorful abstractions, fine art photography, and limited edition prints. Private viewings are available by appointment and overnight stays for up to 5 people can be booked from £199 per night via booking.com or Airbnb https://airbnb.com/h/no2arttownhouse
So what’s in the pipeline; what can we expect from you over the coming year?
I am currently taking part in my second residency this year at Clarence Mews, London where I am developing my latest interdisciplinary performance “The Circle of Everything” (link https://www.emergingvisions.art/thecircleofeverything). The final showing of the work is scheduled for 3rd of December (by invitation only) which I hope will then grow into public showings in 2024. There will also be a new spring exhibition at No. 2 Boutique Art Townhouse in March 2024. Finally, there are also some exciting collaborations in the pipeline, I am especially looking forward to working with my Japanese teacher Rie Takeda on expanding the Enso circle into a poem painted on my skin. I always release details of new events on Instagram and my newsletter so please connect if you would like to hear more (https://www.instagram.com/kamila_ck_artist/ or https://www.emergingvisions.art/ Finally, I am always on the lookout to connect and collaborate with like-minded artists so please get in touch with anything that I do resonates. I collaborate with photographers, filmmakers, musicians, performers, designers, chirographers and more.
Featured Images from performance work “The Circle of Everything” 2023
Additional works by the artist are available to view on the Occhi Contemporary website
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