Martin Blaszk

Interests: performance artist

Martin Blaszk is employed as an assistant professor at the Institute of English and American Studies, University of Gdansk, Poland. In his research, he is interested in happening and performance, as well as creativity in education.

Martin has written articles and reviews dealing with performance and education as well as two books on happening in education – Happening in Education – Theoretical Issues (2017) and Happening in Education – An Empirical Study (2021), both published by Peter Lang. As part of his research, Martin has also led performance-education workshops in Poland and Brazil.

In addition to his research, Martin Blaszk is the author of exhibitions, installations and performances in Great Britain and Poland. In connection with this, he was co-founder and member of artistic collectives “Whiskey Tower Studio” (1984-1988), “kowboj.pl” (2005-2010) and “StudioSzkic” (2008-2013). Martin has dealt with personal experiences of migration in performances and installations. These include: 1. Historia (History) – installation, Galeria BWA, Zielona Góra, Poland (1990); 2. Limited Access – performance, Riverside, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England (1999); 3. His Father’s Voice – sound and cinema installation, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England (1999); 4. In-between – installation in Immediate – New Work New Media, Site Gallery, Sheffield, England (1999-2000); 5. Teaching an Englishman Polish History – performance, Długa Street, Gdańsk, Poland (2001); 6. Polish Immigration – performance, Monument, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England (2010); 7. Brzeziny Łzawienie (Birch Weeping) – performance, Festival of Literature and Theatre, Between.Pomiędzy, Gdańsk, Poland (2018).

Installation

Gallery

In this gallery you can see a selection of my work on "Border Insight – An installation". I hope you enjoy.

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Border Insight

Border Insight – An installation

The installation Border Insight explores ideas of border and barrier. Three irregular lines made of slender piles of bent rusted wire are laid out on the floor in the shape of three border maps (Figure 1). The pieces of wire come from fences that were once used to keep people apart (Figure 2). Following Baz Kershaw’s ‘meadow meander’ practice, the borders represented are not identified – it is left to the audience to decide. Additionally, a red rope surrounds the three border maps, allowing only one point of entry, one point of exit. The red rope restricts access, but it also represents Ariadne’s thread, which is often linked to intuition – a different way of understanding the world. As such, it invites the audience to rethink their ideas about borders.

The installation – Border Insight – was originally exhibited as part of the performance Two Night Walks, Three Borders, which was enacted 23-25 May, 2023.

See the figures and live photos below.
Here you can see one of my other projects, linked with "Border Insight" and quite relevant for the time we live in: TWO NIGHT WALKS, THREE BORDERS:

Film

Border Insight – An installation. Selected Moments.

You can see it in our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/W8zmEla3oUc

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