My journey with machines began in 2019, during a long period of illness when my body was almost completely paralysed. In order to continue painting, I began using different machines and tools I found around me. I painted with them, and for me, this became a way of creating again. At that time, I did not know when—or if—I would regain control of my body.
As I gradually became healthier, I was able to let go of control more and more. Through this process, I discovered a new language: abstract painting. Machines remained part of my practice, becoming an extension of my body. Today, when I work with machines, I allow them to inspire me. At the same time, I have learned to program them, often using random codes that introduce an element of unpredictability into the process.
I am interested in chance and in what emerges through the act of making. My work is a constant process of negotiation and collaboration. I think of machines as extensions of my body—tools through which I can explore movement, control, and the unexpected. Through painting and performance, I have explored and challenged the boundaries of what can be understood as my body.
For me, performance is intimately connected to the body. It allows me to express embodied experiences and to explore how machines can become extensions of the body itself. They became a way for me to communicate physical experiences that I could not otherwise articulate, and through them I found a visual language that feels true to me.
In 2022, Novak completed a Master’s degree in Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Umeå, Sweden and studied Fine Arts at Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw between 2013 – 2015. They also have a background in performing arts, film acting, art history, film studies, philosophy and studied photography at Valand Art Academy (HFF) in Gothenburg.
Throughout the years, Novak participated in Artist in Residence programs and art projects with Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, Moderna Museet, Pals Performance Art Links, Supermarket Art Fair, Färgfabriken in Stockholm, Gallery Thomassen in Gothenburg and Bildmuseet in Umeå, ZVUN Gallery in Nachod.
In 2022 Novak was awarded the Assistant Grant with artist Åsa Cederqvist and trawel grant for AIR in North Macedonia (2020 and 2022) from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee. In 2020 They got grant from e Swedish Royal Academy of Arts (Konstakademin).