Rafał Zajko (b. 1988, Białystok, Poland) is a polish artist based in London. He holds an MFA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths, University of London and a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art, London, UK. His work deals with issues around the industrial past exploring its environmental impact in relation to working class heritage and queer identities. His sculptural practice incorporates diverse materials and processes, including ceramic, ventilation systems, prosthetics, and performance as a means to examine Polish folklore, science fiction and queer technoscience; placing emphasis on the industrial materials and processes that resonate with and honour his heritage.
Zajko was recently awarded Abbey Fellowship at British School at Rome (Spring 2024). His sculptural commission Bread and Milk was shown in Autumn 2023 at Kunshalle Wien in Austria. Recent solo exhibitions include Clocking Off at Queercircle (2023), Song to the Siren at Cooke Latham Gallery (2022), Amber Waves at Public Gallery (2021), Resuscitation, Castor Projects, London, UK (2020); We Were Here/My Tu Bylismy, Galeria Im. Slendzinskich, Białystok, Poland (2019); Unputdownable, White Cubicle, London (2018). He has participated in numerous group exhibitions including London Open 2022 at Whitechapel Gallery, New Contemporaries 2021 at South London Gallery, X Museum, Beijing, China (2020); TJ Boulting, London, UK (2020); Bold Tendencies, London, UK (2020); Goswell Rd, Paris, France (2019); Ashes/Ashes, New York, USA (2019); EXILE, Vienna, Austria (2019); Vitrine, Basel, Switzerland (2019); Litost, Prague, Czech Republic (2018).