Elzbieta (Ela) Kurowska – Artist Statement
Elzbieta (Ela) Kurowska is a photographer and a biochemist with Ph.D., born in Poland and living in London ON. She started her adventure with camera 10 years ago after a long and successful career in research. As a photographer, Ela discovered quite early that she can combine her new love for capturing the world through the lens with her lifelong passion for science and experimenting. In 2013 she developed a novel photography technique based on photoelasticity, an old visualization method from the field of materials engineering. To create her artwork, Ela uses unique materials – soft, translucent organic gels. The tiny structures that she builds from these gels have ability to transform into images of otherworldly life made of light and vivid colors when viewed and captured in the cross-polarized light. She calls her creations “Light Forms”.
Ela’s artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally, in numerous solo and group shows, and has been purchased by many private collectors. Her images have won several prestigious awards including 2017 Sony World Photography Awards (shortlisted in the Open competition and the 2nd Place Nationally). Her works have been published in international photography magazines (most recently featured in Dek Unu Magazine and in Photo District News Emerging Photographer) and gained recognition as example of creativity at the interface between art and science/engineering. The story about Light Forms project has been captured in the awarded documentary “Ela’s Worlds”
