Biography
Anna Suwalowska, a London-based Polish artist, holds degrees from the Royal College of Art in London (2013) and the Camberwell College of Art (2011). She brings a unique perspective to her work at the intersection of art, medicine, and science. Rooted in extensive explorations of the subconscious, self-expression, and the human mind, her art leads to ongoing research on psychological landscapes. Her paintings serve as a basis for interdisciplinary collaborations involving practitioners from diverse fields.
She is the founder of Beyond Physical Form, a cross-disciplinary programme exploring museum collections related to death.
She is the founder of Beyond Physical Form, a cross-disciplinary programme exploring museum collections related to death.
Recently, she served as the Artistic Director of Homage to the Departed (2023-2024), a collaborative project at the McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa. This project, conducted in partnership with local artists, a social scientist, and an archaeologist, examined the ethics of displaying human remains in museums. It culminated in exhibitions at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics in Baltimore, USA, and the Duggan-Cronin Gallery at the McGregor Museum in Kimberley (both 2024).
As part of her practice, Anna collaborates with researchers and practitioners from institutions such as the University of Oxford, the University of Exeter, and the University of Cape Town. A key outcome of these collaborations was her solo exhibition Beyond the Body: A Portrait of Autopsy (2020–2023), which challenged societal taboos surrounding death. This exhibition was featured at medical institutions across Europe, the UK, Singapore and South Africa. It was also selected by the Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health in Exeter, UK, in partnership with the World Health Organization, to be shown at the UN City in Denmark to highlight how behavioural and cultural factors contribute to improved health outcomes.
In 2024&2025, she was invited to exhibit Nobodies—an exploration of the ethics of caring for unidentified bodies—as part of the Death Care lecture series at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.
Anna’s work has been showcased in numerous international exhibitions and residencies, including in Taiwan, Norway, and Hong Kong. She is also the co-curator of Dreamscapes, a surrealist group exhibition celebrating contemporary surrealism.