AN ARTIST THAT CREATES INTIMATE EXPERIENCES FOR HER AUDIENCE
Marijn Bax grew up in a small and “narrow-minded” village that she felt oppressive. To her, now, working as an artist and photographer is the biggest freedom that she can possibly imagine. After finishing her degree in social cultural studies, she found herself working as an assistant photographer in various fields of photography (reporting, portraiture, documentaries and fashion) while working on assignment as a freelance photographer herself. It was in 2012 when Marijn began her Masters of photography at the Art Academy AKV St Joost Breda in the Netherlands, graduating in 2014. She has since devoted her time in her studio to create images based on our ideas of ‘truth’ and ‘story telling’.
“In my installations, I emphasise the role of space and time in shaping our experiences. Now that almost every image can be downloaded in high-res within seconds on the internet, I try to resist all that is instant and omnipresent- emphasising the local, the slow and the specific instead”.
In 2015 the Mondriaan Fund supported Marijn with a grant for emerging artists (Werkbijdragen Jong Talent) and since then, has also been represented by Galerie Caroline O’Breen - (formerly Seelevel Gallery). Last year (2016), she completed two large research based in-situ projects: ENDS MEET in Castrum Peregrini, Amsterdam and REFLECTIONS in Den Bosch as a part of Bosch 500.
MARIJN HAS A GREAT INTEREST IN HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY AND THE BOUNDARIES OF INTERPRETATION
Marijn is inspired by the stories she finds within the buildings in which she works - be it the spaces themselves or the personal narratives that she retrieves from the archives and her interest in human psychology. In the end, it all lands up merging together in experiences that are often intimate and that always push, question and dissolve boundaries.
ENDS MEET - Where is the frontier of LIKE and LOVE - 3.8.3
Wood, glass, rubber
11,5 H x 17 W cm
Courtesy of Galerie Caroline O’Breen
In her work, past and present collide; private and public merge; and fact and fiction become incredibly hard to tell apart. By juggling these lines, Marijn believes that we are able to reflect upon our own patterns and habits of thought. Now that we supposedly live in a ‘post-truth’ era, she asks her audience how, exactly, they would interpret a story when they hear, read, or see it? How do their own past presumptions and preoccupations shape their interpretations and ideas of truth? Wat is ‘truth’, anyway, and is it possible ever to get at it?
A REAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATERIALS USED AND STORIES TOLD
New work for Marijn arises intuitively from the ‘process’ of her research and the space within she works. And according to Marijn, sometimes her work is only created a week before the exhibition opens.
ENDS MEET – Fluid Compositions
Porcelain, aluminum and polaroid
16,8 H x 14,5 W cm
Courtesy of Galerie Caroline O’Breen
The materials she uses are always inspired and related to the stories she tells. In one of her works titled ‘ENDS MEET’ for example, she created porcelain frames. Porcelain, fluid from the start, can break and could be reshaped again - but, will never decay. This feature for her, was symbolic in her research on the question: “Where is the frontier of LIKE and LOVE?” (a quote by Gisele van Waterschoot van der Gracht).
Click here to see more works by Marijn Bax
Or visit Marijn’s newest exhibition (12 Oct. - 18 Nov.) ‘Touch of Stone’ at galerie Caroline O’ Breen.
Text by: Georgia Fane Hervey
Pictures by: Iris Haverkamp Begemann
