degree piece
minor degree
The installation impacts the recipient on three levels: the audial one, the visual one and the haptic one. Experiencing the texture of fur produces contradictory feelings. It is pleasant, but it occurs at the expense of another being that was once alive. This opens the way to a reflection on the status of animals in our culture and, more broadly, a reflection on the situation of all subordinated and exploited beings. Guided by the spectator’s hand, minor sounds are heard, creating a unique ephemeral composition. The piece examines the impact of sounds on our mental and physical well-being. The whole process is accompanied by reactions of an avatar on the screen, which observes and participates in the event at the same time. Master of reality is the opposite of someone who needs to use his imagination and make things up all the time. Being the master of reality, you cope with the reality and do not have to replace it with an imaginary one.
The minor degree is a reflection on the body and time. A large close-up makes the texture and colours of the skin seem to be elements of a landscape, thus delaying the associative moment.
Born 1995. Studies: Faculty of Media Art of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (bachelor’s level 2015–2018, master’s level 2018–2020), Social Arts at the Faculty of Polish Studies of the University of Warsaw (master’s level since 2020), dok pro course at Wajda School in Warsaw (since 2020). Fields of artistic activity: 3d and virtual reality technology, video, reportage photography, film, sound.
supervisor: Dr hab. Jakub Wróblewski
Master of reality is a tactoaudiovisual experience that integrates three kinds of senses: hearing, vision and touch. The pretext for this project was the issue of subjective sensation of the sound in a cultural context, a critical look at the construction of virtual reality systems, and an examination of the relation between the human being and animals. The defence of the degree piece coincided with the adoption of the act on the ban on rearing and breeding animals for commercial purposes, particularly for the purpose of obtaining their furs or other body parts. Agata Chodera proposed an artistic strategy that became a specific interaction study resulting from the author’s attempt to build her original tools. It is very important to notice the hacking of the VR system and the abandonment of its key feature – visuality. The piece is based on the use of the gaming engine, the mechanics of which allows young artists to discover new areas for experiments and the exploration of possible combinations of interaction, narration and aesthetics. Chodera shortens the cognitive distance – female and male participants can remain both recipients and users of the designed system. The use of animal skins obtained through an open call creates a monument to human domination in the Anthropocene epoch. The project was carried out with contribution from the 3dZwii team, particularly Andrei Isakov and Przemysław Danowski. The teaching process systems being developed in the young studio are aimed at examining the perception of the recipient of virtual experience and constituents of experience, including types of illusion, incarnation, proprioception, the sense of agency and affordance.
supervisor: Prof. Mirosław Bałka
The minor degree by Agata Chodera Wait for me, and I’ll come back is dedicated to the artist’s Grandfather, whose body became the Subject of research and reflections on the uncertainty and fragility of life. The fragments of records of the Grandfather’s body collected by the granddaughter deserve special attention. Although this family relationship is not communicated directly by the presented video images, the manner of scanning the body and the carefulness and sensitivity of filming suggest some kind of indifferent relationship. The pulsing, close and delicate manner of touching the body shows adequate behaviour in space to the recipient.
The honesty of the recording translates into the honesty of reception, and this is also the value of this work.