The Curator Magazine Article

Thinloth’s Romanticism: Emancipation of Women’s Witch-hood

“I want to show every piece of being a woman in a  wonderful and dignified form. I want to capture gentle sensuality, wild  untamed freedom and even naughty sexiness. Almost every woman has all of  these crumbs inside her. Of course they can be differently balanced,  sometimes some of them can be hidden very deeply, buried and forgotten  but they do exist.” Thinloth

Thinloth is an artist living a quiet  cottage life on the outskirts of Poland. She lives away from the noise  of cities taking refuge with nature along with her furry friends. Her  photography is a powerful cannon launched into the world which explodes  to create space for important dialogue around women artists. Thinloth is  inspired by the complexity and rawness of nature and what it brings to  her life. She regards nature as the main source of creation for her  work. She says “from waking up to the beauty of Nature that surrounds me  – her beauty that can be found in quiet Mists wondering amongst the  sleeping Trees, droplets of night Storm vibrating gently on the edges of  leaves inspire me.” One might think that Thinloth’s art creates a  beautiful and dark gothic fantasy using visuals like dark gowns, misty  woods, shallow water, long wavy hair, naked bodies, and animals, but she  believes that it is not a fantasy world but the very reality of her  life.

She says “It’s just my simple life. It’s a reality where I  truly feel like myself. My life is without any masks or armor that  society has created for me through years of being asked to be someone  else to be accepted. The ‘fantasy’ in my art is right behind the corner  for everybody. People ‘just’ need to open the eyes of their Souls and  start feeling. Not just seeing.” She believes that her creative process  is like a ‘calm mess’, she juxtaposes two very opposite words to reveal a  sentimentality which is more open to acceptance of one’s own state of  mind and process of creativity.

Thinloth’s relationship with nature is  the most beautiful connection that is reflected in her work. Her work  is composed with nature, like a song in the air descending on the grass  like evening mist. Her idea of the self and nature is so romantic. The  concept of a romantic self is build around expressions of one’s own core  and that’s what Thinloth does with her art. She expresses the truth of  her life by opening her life through snapshots, reflecting her true self  and the relationship she shares with her surroundings. Thinloth’s  interest in visual arts is well developed through exploring a variety of  frames and self-portraits. The self-portraits are moments of  romanticism captured in a frame. Thinloth’s idea of art comes from  showing the reality of her being. She captures frames of what she finds  on a long walk in the misty autumnal forest and the time she spends with  her beloved animals. The relationship she shares with animals is that  of a family. As a child, she felt alienated from the children of her age  as she was the smallest, funniest mismatched girl with health problems.  She says, “As a child, I was excluded by peers. So I ran into another  company. Company of animals and trees with whom I talk a lot. Into  fairytales which were already written by someone else but also the ones  which my imagination was writing in my Soul. So I started to create my  own worlds. Worlds that dance wildly deep within me.” She wants to  remind humans that we are also animals with tools and culture to set us  apart but we are a part of nature and depend on it. She believes that  her inspiration comes from deep gratitude she feels towards her natural  surroundings, on which her life depends on. She believes in visiblising  those moments of serendipity that she finds when she is engulfed in  nature. She says “I want to remind them about beautiful language without  words. Language of feeling. Observing. Language of honesty, truth, and  emotions.”

 Thinloth’s self portraits create a  fierce image of womanhood by using nudity as a symbol of honesty and  naturalness. Her art brings a side of womanhood that has been suppressed  since the beginning of time. Thinloth’s idea of being women is to be  fearless; they are the mistresses of nature, drawing strength from  accepting their bodies and being comfortable with themselves. Her idea  of nudity comes from a very romantic notion of being one with nature and  removing the obstacles the society has imposed on women. She says “For  me it’s absolutely natural to be nude. It’s honest, gives freedom and  confidence when I am in my natural surroundings. Clothes are often  unnecessary and even a hinder to show my feelings through my work.” She  deconstructs the perception of women by accepting herself as a witch.  Her photographs show naked women dancing around a bonfire like witches  or caressing animals or sitting on trees naked. This creates an  important dialogue that women movements have often addressed. Witchcraft  has been a taboo for centuries and considered evil and promiscuous.  Thinloth takes it a step further by reconstructing the idea of being a  Witch. She believes that, a witch is a woman of power and capabilities.  Her aim is to normalize the natural existence of womanhood and the power  that comes with it and the right to exercise that power in its true  form and magnitude, without being prosecuted for it. Thinloth is the  mistress of misty forests and believes that women can create magic if  they believe and become the master of their own lives. Her art opens  doors to a new realm where one sees the amalgamation of womanhood and  witchcraft. The necessity of disassociation of women from evil is one of  the most important concerns of womanhood. Her  romantic approach towards nature and womanhood creates a space of power  where a woman can find herself raising towards a self that is  emancipated and true.

Some time ago I had an interview for The Curator Magazine. I'm not sure if such articles don't vanish at some point, so I copy text also here. Have a nice lecture to your coffee. :)

link to article