Ruth Miemczyk and Louise Severyn-Kosinska were born in England, two artists, one from the north and one from the south. Both Ruth and Louise had Polish fathers who had been sent to Siberia as very young men during the Second World War and then came to England following a route across many countries to reach England and both married English women. From this early discussion the artists found they had much in common and that this reflected in their work, both working with ideas of duality, and equally fascinated by ambiguous connections and shifting landscapes.
This site specific installation in Woodend , Scarborough reflects these changing boundaries, with sounds of words seen through layers of polythene, and a collection of glass jars preserving the senses. The alternate use of black and white and colour is specific as a theme running through both artists’ work, with objects that summon up the continuous card playing and the ever present crystal in homes, while the images of storks and salt from the salt mine at Wieliczka reflect the relationship with nature, and watchtowers and maps place the exhibition firmly in a landscape of unseen borders.
