Delving

Interactivity and physical perception are a prerequisite for Marina Bauer in most of her works in order to create an immediate, profound and lasting experience of art. Already in some of her first independent works, titled “Take It In Your Hands”, “Open It and Look Into It” and “Close It and Put It Back” (1994), Marina uses imperatives to invite the viewer not to limit himself by just looking, thus defying the usual gallery practice of perceiving art from a distance. In her later works, “Memories I” and “Memories II“ (2004/2005), Marina continues with the physical engagement of the viewer. The experience of her works involves excavation of cement prints of objects from sand, or review and recognition of objects captured in silicone rollers. “Introverts” (2013/2014), her award-winning sculptural-multimedia installation at the 12th Triennial of Croatian Sculpture, consists of white cubes/pedestals whose interior can be observed through a small opening using a camera. The translation of concrete material content of their interiors in the dynamic visual phenomena can be followed on-screen, whereby our own associations awaken. In the work “Encounter with Ourselves” (2016), Marina expands the sphere of her sculptural interest in interactivity from hand-material connection to the body-material-space connection. In these specific, more or less cramped spaces, isolated from all other stimuli, we are encouraged to stop and be alone with ourselves for a little while. The artist recently established a practice of conducting targeted interviews using focus groups with the visitors of the exhibition. By conducting these interviews, she wants to deepen her understanding of the experience of art, and the role of the physical perception in the experience, which is also the topic of her artistic PhD research. From the text by Hana Lukas-Midžić, 2016