Wia Przygonska
For most of her childhood, Przygonska pretended to be someone she was not. Immigrating to England at a young age disorientated her identity. This led to the key themes in Przygonska’s practice: identity, shame and acceptance. She took an autobiographical approach to share Przygonska’s journey of acceptance of her Polish identity.
Przygonska portrays these subjects in her work with the method of body printing, illustrating herself in her work in a personalised matter and achieving this by investigating the works of David Hammons. He also focuses on the themes of identity, race and immigration, highlighting the injustice and oppression imposed on black bodies in America. This research allowed Przygonska to understand how Hammons uses the techniques of body printing to highlight these issues. The main source of Przygonska’s research is around Patryk Wojcik who she relates to on a personal level, as Wojcik was a Polish immigrant also growing up in England, sharing his struggles of this torn feelings with his identity in the form of arts, in the making of music.
The intention of Przygonska’s practice is to connect with her Polish identity to further understand who she is and to share her journey in her acceptance, which likely will resonate with other immigrants who experienced or are experiencing the same subject.
‘Acceptance’
Body print on wool
2025
198 x 193 cm
This piece displays the self acceptance of Wia’s Polish identity. Taking an autobiographical approach, this artwork is a final celebratory aspect in her journey as an immigrant.
The choice of medium in her work is vital as it ties in with Wia’s heritage. The varied use of bright colours, fabrics, and embroidery all link to her Polish origins and the Polish folk pallet, emphasising the pride she feels to be from her country. Wia has explored the methodologies of body printing enabling her to build on a personal aspect within her work, where she combined colour and traditional flower embroidery to symbolise the essence of beauty and growth in her journey of acceptance.
Although the artwork was created as a way of self closure for Wia, she hopes that her work will inspire and relate to others who experienced or are experiencing similar feelings of displacement within their identity as immigrants.
