Angelica Brzyska’s thesis project Ghosts of the Home: Unfolded Pasts & Traces of the Old Country explores the experiences of people with cross-cultural identities. The core of Brzyska’s practice draws from her Polish-Canadian identity, specifically the material exploration of paper through printmaking, the Polish folk art called wycinanki and installation. Nostalgia haunts the work which references her early childhood, a time when she felt the strongest connection to her Polish heritage and before she began to assimilate into Canadian culture. The tactility of printmaking and paper cutting’s repetitive actions allows Brzyska to remember the place of childhood thereby bridging the gap between her identities.
