marie j.engelsvold

Artist statement

Marie J.Engelsvold.

I'am a visual artist based in Copenhagen, working through various medias such as sculptures drawings, photographs, videos and art-projects. 

I have always been interested in expressing consciousness, thoughts, feelings and energies in human beings. They are invisible, but are nevertheless the driving force in the way we act in relation to other people and how we influence and let ourselves be influenced by different situations. Because of the power our state of consciousness has on our lives, I have always tried to create works that give these states a physically sensuous materiality.

I love the process of art making, and to challenge myself with new materials and environments. How can I, through various materials and shapes and how they are combined, create a physical reflection of an inner state? The materials and their different textures, are very important in my works. The materials I’am currently using are textiles, yarn, ceramics, foam rubber, concrete, cardboard, wood and plaster. I work on how to unite the very different elements into one form of unity. I see my sculptures / objects as a kind of creatures, or psychic units. When I work with the sculptures, it is a intuitive process in an experimental and playful approach, untill the right balance of the work is achieved. The works' language and form of communication are nonverbal and nonmental. Therefore, I also work mainly abstract, as I want to maintain it’s appeal to the senses. The work gets its energy in the process, and my presence in the creation.

As part of my art praxis I like to make art outside my studio. It’s about shifting my surroundings, it’s about making the process visible, and it’s about playing and having fun. I feel more free when I’am in new places. It’s exciting to see how I can work with my materials in a new place. I bring along my materials. Shapes made of wood, foam or textiles. Yarn robes. Wood sticks and textiles. Sometimes I combine it with what I find in the new environment, branches, leaves or other things. It’s also about being present, cause the work is only existing in the process.