Double Life is a video series made up of several diptychs focused on the various ways in which artists manage – or not, as the case may be – to reconcile juggling their ‘day jobs’ and their art proper. By portraying artists in various different walks of life, which often don’t coincide with one another in time, Kisseleva raises questions about whether the artist’s work is appreciated by, and what his contribution is to, a society oriented towards efficiency, productivity and profit. The stories told by Kisseleva reflect the alienation that frequently accompanies living a ‘double life’.

Double Life is a part of the exhibition Economics in Art presented in MOCAK till 29 September.

Invitation for Polish artists to contribute to Double Life
Double Life, which began in 2007, is essentially a collaborative project: in every city in which it has been shown, local artists contributed to the work with their own videos. They have been shot in Paris, Montréal, Moscow, New Delhi, Bucharest and Madrid, to name a few. So far, fifteen diptychs have been produced. Now, it’s Krakow’s turn to take part in the project.

In workshops running from 28 until 31 October, Krakow artists will have an opportunity to reveal their own ‘double life’ and to contribute to the continuation of the project. A small group of artists will be selected, who over the following month will create their own diptychs, which will be integrated into the series. The Krakow diptychs will be unveiled at MOCAK between 2 and 7 December, subsequently to travel round the world as part of the project.

Krakow artists wishing to submit their application to join in the creation of Kisseleva’s project should contact Jagna Strama on: strama@mocak.pl by 28 October, including their artistic CV both in Polish and in English.

In her works, Olga Kisseleva employs new technology, photography and video to convey a vision of the world dominated by technology and behaviour conditioning. The artist’s take on a complex reality gives scope for multiple readings, whether in the local or global context. Her works deal with issues arising in the urban environment as well as with identity and the media, revealing flaws in the Western cultural model. Taking on board post-modern capitalist societies, Olga Kisseleva attempts to find places reserved for intellectual and artistic activity.

The founder of, and a professor at, the Art and Science Laboratory at the Sorbonne, Olga Kisseleva has played a pioneering role in the fields of contemporary art research and reflection on the emerging forms of creation.
Kisseleva’s works are part of many collections, including the National Centre for Contemporary Art in Moscow, MoMA in New York City, the ARC in Paris, KIASMA in Helsinki, the Consortium in Dijon and the Museum Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid as well as the Biennales in Venice, Istanbul, Dakar, Tirana, Rennes and Moscow.