Netherlands
Marian Meerbeek
Since my art education at the Willem de Kooning Academy I create sculpture installations and site specific projects.
I have exhibited at various locations in the Netherlands and abroad. Highlights include exhibitions in New York, Gemeentemuseum The Hague and Gemeentemuseum Helmond .
The common thread in my ephemeral works is formed by the elements of earth, water, air and fire. Alchemic experiments with the material are an important part of the working process.
The work is often made ​​specifically for a location and also built there. The works enter into a relationship with the environment and the public and refer to the history of the location. Beforehand I search archives and the location for history, memories and stories. All this inspires me and provides elements to incorporate into my art.
My work is about transformation, memory and time. Memories arise from personal experience; imprints in the memory.These memories I try to reconstruct by looking for tracks such as remains, shadows, reflections. A story arises from remnants of past events.
The projects and installations are made of natural materials and non-tangible elements such as scent, sound and time: growth processes and weathering. All of these factors influence one another and transform the work.
About scent:
Scent is a powerfull generator of memories and makes you return to an event immediately. Of all the senses, scent is the strongest associated with memories. If you smell a scent, it is stored in the oldest area of the brains: the part of the brains that controls emotions and memory. Even before the speech development and use of tools, this part of our brains was already well developed. Scent is the most primal of all our senses, as only directly connected to the brains. Therefore memories that are generated by scent, are direct and strong. They are emotionally more intense experienced than other memories. Fragrances can cross hundreds of kilometers and whole life times.
I have exhibited at various locations in the Netherlands and abroad. Highlights include exhibitions in New York, Gemeentemuseum The Hague and Gemeentemuseum Helmond .
The common thread in my ephemeral works is formed by the elements of earth, water, air and fire. Alchemic experiments with the material are an important part of the working process.
The work is often made ​​specifically for a location and also built there. The works enter into a relationship with the environment and the public and refer to the history of the location. Beforehand I search archives and the location for history, memories and stories. All this inspires me and provides elements to incorporate into my art.
My work is about transformation, memory and time. Memories arise from personal experience; imprints in the memory.These memories I try to reconstruct by looking for tracks such as remains, shadows, reflections. A story arises from remnants of past events.
The projects and installations are made of natural materials and non-tangible elements such as scent, sound and time: growth processes and weathering. All of these factors influence one another and transform the work.
About scent:
Scent is a powerfull generator of memories and makes you return to an event immediately. Of all the senses, scent is the strongest associated with memories. If you smell a scent, it is stored in the oldest area of the brains: the part of the brains that controls emotions and memory. Even before the speech development and use of tools, this part of our brains was already well developed. Scent is the most primal of all our senses, as only directly connected to the brains. Therefore memories that are generated by scent, are direct and strong. They are emotionally more intense experienced than other memories. Fragrances can cross hundreds of kilometers and whole life times.
