About – Jana Astanov

Jana Astanov is a multidisciplinary artist, living between New York and London. Born in Poland she studied anthropology, philosophy and linguistics in France, and arts in the UK. Her work includes photography, poetry, performance, new media and installation. She performed since 2003 influenced by the 59Rivoli community in Paris. Her poetry was first published in Polish when she was 16. Since her 20s she experimented with writing in English, with first poetry in her third language (after Polish and French) published at 3AM Magazine in 2015. Jana merges poetry with performance practice and sound art. She has started two feminist performance groups Red Temple (also a publishing house) and W.I.S.E. encouraging other women to create and write their own stories that she often includes in her performances with an aim to portray the female world. She published three collections of poetry: Antidivine (Undergroundbooks.org), Grimoire (Red Temple Press) and Sublunar (Red Temple Press).

Some press: Flavorwire, Let them Talk, The Numinous.

EDUCATION
2004 – Philosophy, University Rennes 1, France
2011 – Digital Film Making, Central Saint Martins, London, UK
2012-2013 – MA Media Production University of the Arts London, UK

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS & PERFORMANCES

2017
Illimitable Night, Performance, Stone Circle, Hilly Fields, Brockley, London, UK
The Justice, 3sf Deptford League, Psychogeographical Society of London, Fordham Park, London, UK
Sublunar Tide, Performance / Poetry, Portugal
Fiery Tongues Poetry Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands
The city belongs to us, Poetry / Performance, Rough Night Press, Amsterdam, Netherlands

2016
Lost Psalms of Destruction, Winter Solstice Performance / Poetry, 23 Windows, NYC, USA
Northern Grimoire, Performance / Poetry, Front Room Gallery, NYC, USA
Love You, Hate You, Performance / Poetry / Video Installation, PerforMIA, Art Basel, Miami, USA
Julia Must Die, Performance / Poetry / Installation, Spread Art, Detroit, USA
Inside Her Head, Performance / Poetry / Installation, New York Poetry Festival, USA
Time Lapse Double, Performance / Photography series, Rosekill Performance Space, USA
Triple Fire Ritual, Performance, Rosekill Performance Space, USA
Battle of Rosekill, Performance, Rosekill Performance Space, USA
Black Swan Waltz &the Fire Tree, Performance, Torus Porta, NYC, USA
Devi Oracle, Performance, Undercurrent Projects Gallery, NYC, USA
Men of Flowers, Performance, Torus Porta, NYC, USA
She-Universe, Performance, Ruigoord, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Holy of Spring, Performance, Tate Modern, London, UK

2015
The Ultimate Truth of The Human Is HERS, Performance, Point B Gallery, NYC, USA
Network, Point B, Group Exhibition, work included Primary Connection – shamanic exploration within the female community of Red Temple, NYC, USA
Transcendence, Point B Gallery, Group Exhibition, work includedContemporary Landscape of EcoFeminism, NYC, USA
Red Temple installation, Sag Harbour, USA
Flames or I.P.P.R. (International Party for Proportional Representation), Performance Times Square, NYC, USA
Transmission Day, Performance, Point B Gallery, NYC, USA
Direct Current, Point B Gallery, Curated by Lalita Salander, NYC, USA
No Place to Hide, Performance with The Living Theatre, New York Earth Day, NYC, USA
Cosmic Serpent, Performance, The Living Gallery, NYC, USA
Antidivine, Performance, The Silent Barn, NYC, USA
She as He, Performance, Vector Gallery, NYC, USA
Je suis Supernova, Performance, 59 Rivoli Gallery, Paris, France
Illumination, Performance, 59 Rivoli Gallery, Paris, France

2014
The Art of Saving the Arctic, SpaceBy3 Gallery, Miami, FL, USA
Naked Poetry Dive, Performance, Baptist Church, NYC, USA
Performing with Kembra Pfahler, Auto Body, Spinello Projects, Miami, USA
https://vimeo.com/129301268
Bodies of Water, the Planetary Change, Performance with W.I.S.E., Climate March, NYC, USA
Married to 100 people, Performance, Burning Man, Nevada Desert, USA
#Belfie, ongoing social media project, social media hashtag action #belfie

2013
Three Witches, Summer Solstice, Photography series, Free Form Festival, Pennsylvania, USA

2012
The Muse, Photography series, Paris, France
Live West Die Young, Photography series, London, UK
Les Reves en Papier-Mache, Photography series, London, UK
Doll Infested Wonderland, Photography series, London, UK
Thrilling, Video art, Poland
Junction, Video art, UK

2006
Slavic Spirits, Summer Solstice Performance, Zabie Oczko, Elk, Poland
The Elements, Winter Solstice Performance, Sopelana, Bilbao, Spain

2003/ 2004
Baudelaire’s Sister, Performance, 59 Rivoli Gallery, Paris, France
French Afternoon, Performance, 59 Rivoli Gallery, Paris, France
The Muse, Photography series with Suisse Marocain, Paris, France

2002
Jadeive, Self Proclaimed Goddess, Photography series, Torun, Poland
Exhibitionism, Photography series for Underground Poetry Magazine, Torun, Poland

WHERE THERE IS WOMAN, THERE IS MAGIC.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Destiny of the Unknown
The urge to express something that cannot be captured in the logic of the language brings me to the images, I travel between the worlds and dream in symbols. Since our humanity translates itself through each civilisation’s mythology the waters I swim in are those of the Jungian sea, the collective unconscious and the personal from where the archetypes emerge.

The Shamanese
Anthropology, philosophy and an early fascination with theatre, especially the ritualistic meditative kind are the roots of my artistic practice. The Shamanese, the go-between medium, revealing the will of the divine and connecting the tribe with its vital force, can be compared to the Platonic concept of the Poet / Artist who translates the meanings of cosmic consciousness for the rest of us.