Aleksandra Bonikowska – Collection of furniture inspired by Polish & Indian garments
My vision of future created for Future Man 2052 Exhibition
I think that 2052 will bring big changes to all humanity. By this time, robots will replace most of the human workers, if not all of them. We can already see it happening. Supermarkets with one supervisor and 15 self-checkouts, cars driving while you resting your hands on the phone that can give you all answers to your questions without any effort. People are replaced by the machines, because of convenience and how fast everything is progressing. One robot is able to do job of at least two or three people, making job more efficient and definitely more economical. Let’s take an example of doctors. The profession that has been highly respected for years, now is in danger. Soon, robots will be able to diagnose you with the problem and write you a prescription, without human interference. Again. They are quicker and programmed to do quick solving which is needed in highly paced world.
Being an artist also will be much more difficult. Already is difficult. In an era of Photoshop and all advanced software, photographers, drawers and painters are 
struggling, because now everything can be done with a click of the computer mouse. All basic pictures can be turned into beautiful art, paintings and drawings are replaced with non-messy tools of computer software. All what has required a manual and artistic skills back in a day, now is slowly fading into a digital art. This is a terrifying vision, that culture and skills passed from generation to generation will become useless and people will not longer value it’s beauty and uniqueness. This will also lead to permanent damage on people’s creative process and the most simple things will bring a lot of difficulty to one’s life. All this happens because world is progressing too fast for what we can cope with. Even now you can see that younger people are not interested in putting hard work into anything. All is given to them instantly, so they are losing the sense of reward. They don’t need to work hard to have things. Now is winning and online game or a good appearance on social media causing for them the sense of victory and that’s the type of achievement that counts for them now. This is what causing a big problem in young people. They stop manually writing, they stop talking and reading. And if those features are not triggered and exercises regularly, they are slowly fading, and people start losing they ability to speak and write well, communicate appropriately with others and they are automatically become less productive, which slowly kills the creative process within. Due to those concerns I became interested in DIY movement, which calls for creating, building, modifying and repairing things without influence of specialists or experts. Currently, I am creating my furniture based on those principles. In addition, all my work is based on sustainable and ecological ways of using products that are mostly second-hand. My opinion is that no machine-made products can replace the uniqueness of handicrafts, that often carries the artist’s soul. In the future, people’s lack of skills and quick fix solutions are going to be the reason why others will see so much value in a handmade products.
Another problem that is growing already and might really affect people living in 2052 is racism. It’s manifestation is now visible in the USA and UK. People often blindly demonstrating on the streets being unaware of what they are fighting for. Unfortunately, often the only matter they see is matter of the skin. But what would happen if in the near future having a job would be a privilege? People replaced by robots are going to commit crimes as a last resort, and this will affect the minorities of the country. Therefore, as a designer, I would like to help the various groups, by demonstrating equality and diversity through my work. That is why an introduction of different styles, that are coming from native cultures, and mixing them together can help to understand each other and help the problems we are facing now.
About my objects:
I believe that good designer should not only make breathing project which are made in sustainable way, but also be able to show to people problems of coming years through his/her art. This is why I decided to create a collection of my handmade, unique sets of interior products. As I am inspired by another cultures, my furniture is designed by mixing Polish patterns and foreign – originated from India. I am really fascinated by Indian culture, its colorful patterns and ways of making the materials, as much I am astonished, by my own culture. The purpose of mine was to show artistic potential of my region in combination with extraordinary Indian decorations. Polish art of interiors and traditional clothes can offer as much variety as colorful sarees and interesting patterns of India. The magical thing is that this two countries which are situated really far from each other have similar palette of colors. This similarity is exposed in my art.
About me:
I was born in Łódź – industrial city, which is located in heart of Poland. I am a student of Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź – a place where my love for design and fashion has started 6 years ago.
I was looking for inspirations from different cultures during my studies. Everyone knows that London is one of the biggest multicultural capital in Europe that is why I decided to move to this magical place. In that time I was observing how artists from different parts of globe were trying to express themselves in individual, original way. I was exploring London’s best parts and looking for new ideas in museums and exhibitions while I realized that my mission is to bring together foreign cultures with Polish heritage and spread it is beauty and potential worldwide through my own creativity and talent.
Contact:
Phone number: +48 791-835-395
Mail: bonikowskaaleksandra0@gmail.com
Instagram: a.bollywoodz
(The Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz)
