Joanna Malinowska Discusses Whitney Biennial 2012 Installation Featuring Leonard Peltier Painting

Brooklyn-based artist Joanna Malinowska, originally from Poland, showcased her work at the Whitney Biennial 2012 with an installation that carried a strong political message, featuring a painting by Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist incarcerated since 1977. Drawing inspiration from Marlon Brando's Oscar protest in 1973, Malinowska sought to bring attention to Peltier's situation. During a performance, she connected with Dorothy Ninham from the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee via Skype. Additionally, Malinowska presented a bottle rack crafted from walrus and mammoth tusks, alongside a video that included Joseph Beuys and Hugo Ball. A Yale School of Art alumna (2001) and Guggenheim Fellow (2009), she has worked on a documentary about Inuit singer Jimmy Ekho and plans a performance in Norway, as well as a wax cast of writer Imre Kertész.