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Olczak, Susie 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9615-5514
(2019)
Liquid Landscapes: Paper presentation at Birmingham City University Uncertain Knowledges Colloquium with the Material Encounters Research Cluster.
In: Birmingham City University Uncertain Knowledges Colloquium with the Material Encounters Research Cluster., 2019, Online.
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Abstract
Paper presentation at Birmingham City University Uncertain Knowledges Colloquium with the Material Encounters Research Cluster. An aspect lecture that takes the audience on an elemental journey, beginning with light, moving through water, air and fire, and concluding with earth. The works presented comprise those of Olczak alongside those of other practitioners across the creative fields and a broader range of disciplines. Together, they explore ideas of time, fragility and spatial experience through engagement with the cosmological and the geological. The lecture considers the significance of human relationships with the elements within urban space, and reflects on what may be learned from experimental creative processes and forms of human adaptation in relation to these materials. Working predominantly in sculpture, Olczak engages with intersections across fine art and other creative disciplines, combining multiple processes within her practice. This presentation outlines the importance of a fluid approach to both materiality and immateriality, and to the layering of experiential encounters with the surrounding world. It encourages the exploration of unconventional material combinations, such as the submergence of neon within water or the use of glass to support heavier masses, as a means of testing material limits. Olczak’s research engages with ideas of journeys, mapping and networks in relation to urban space. Structured as a visual progression, the lecture suggests connections between elemental forces and broader societal concerns, with particular attention to the significance of human relationships to the elements in the context of climate change. Parallels are drawn between spatial experiences within urban architecture, movement through expanding digital networks, and processes of creative exploration.
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
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| Related URLs: | |
| Subjects: | N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR |
| Divisions: | Schools and Research Institutes > Countryside and Community Research Institute |
| Depositing User: | Susie Olczak |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Mar 2026 09:54 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Mar 2026 09:54 |
| URI: | https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/15989 |
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