Natalia Zagorska-Thomas’s strange and evocative mixed media sculptures take over the Fitzrovia Chapel for four days in May.
DATES
TIME
Sunday 1pm to 5pm
Monday 11am to 6pm
Tuesday 11am to 5pm
Wednesday 11am to 6pm
“An (art) object exists between eternity and the rubbish heap”
– Tadeusz Kantor
Natalia Zagorska-Thomas’s strange and evocative mixed media sculptures take over the Fitzrovia Chapel for four days in May. This collection of broken and discarded objects which have outlived their original purpose seem to be engaged in a process of self-reinvention. Perhaps they have been brought here as part of some unknown ritual. Perhaps they were seeking sanctuary. Or maybe they have always been there, unnoticed, undergoing a slow process of metamorphosis and have simply grown too big to ignore.
The private view of the exhibition on 12 May, 6-8.30pm will include a London launch of NOON, a New York based literary magazine with readings by Lara Pawson, Lucie Elven and a discussion with Natalia about her work which features in the 2026 issue of the magazine.
Each day, the exhibition will include durational performances by Natalia and Rachel Pearcy, which will take place throughout the run of the show at regular intervals. No booking necessary.
ExPurgamento [the name of Natalia’s gallery] is Latin for ‘out of the dirt’. Refuse, in other words. Riddance. What nobody wants and has been scoured away. This, however, is where Natalia Zagórska-Thomas finds her material and her inspiration. She understands the mute eloquence of things – of objects, oddments, tools, fabrics – and wants to make them speak, or speak again, in her work. They may, after passing through her hands, speak louder than she does. That is one of the mysteries of her practice.
Let’s assume that certain objects have outlived their usefulness. Through long contact with human beings, they have assimilated some of the symbolism placed upon them, then used it as a starting-point for their own pursuit of autonomous identity. Because they are not considered – by humans – valuable enough to be collected for themselves, they are engaged in a fight for survival. Taking such snippets of human experience as they have picked up from literature, visual art and music, they adapt them to create new meaning for themselves, one which will justify the value of their existence, not just to us, but to themselves as well.
Tadeusz Kantor said, ‘The object exists between eternity and the rubbish heap.’ It is in that space, suspended between destruction and immortality, that Zagórska-Thomas’s objects fight with her for control of their own destiny.
Christopher Reid
ABOUT
NATALIA ZAGORSKA-THOMAS is a Polish/British visual artist, art conservator and curator. Trained at Canberra School of Art (Australia) and St Martins and Central School of Art (London) she has exhibited in Australia, Poland, Spain, Cuba, Germany, Italy and the UK at institutions such as Victoria & Albert Museum (London), Royal Festival Hall (London), Barbican Centre (London); Sotheby’s (London); Galerie Housegeburt (Stuttgart); El Centro Provincial de Artes Plásticas y Diseño, (Havana), and others. She works as a textile conservator for institutions such as the Royal Academy, Victoria and Albert Museum, Museum of London, Royal Collection Trust, Museum of Islamic Art, (Doha) and Wawel Royal Castle (Krakow). Natalia is an owner/curator of an independent gallery in London called Studio ExPurgamento, which shows work of international and British artists in all media. She has curated group exhibitions at Studio ExPurgamento (London), One Paved Court (London), StJohn’s Church Waterloo (London), Bookartbookshop (London), Galería Isolo, Verona and others. As an artist, curator and an art conservator Zagorska-Thomas aims to explore the notions of interpretation and the agency of the collected object in contemporary culture.
Accessability
Outside the Chapel, there are two steps, which have a built-in wheelchair lift. The Chapel is wheelchair accessible. The majority is on one level, and there is a ramp that can be used to access the chancel (altar area). We have a fully accessible toilet. View more accessibility information
OUR CULTURAL PROGRAMME
Since 2016, we have collaborated with artists, curators, and institutions to present a programme of exhibitions that often reflects our history as the chapel for the Middlesex Hospital.
