Art art

Marie Munk and a not too distant future

3 years ago

There is something deeply dramatic in the works of artist Marie Munk (Denmark, 1988), who investigates the relationship between the body and technology through the creation of disturbing imagery. Sculpture, installation, video and performance are the main media the artist uses. In particular, it is the large sculptural installations that strike us. The work Cable-to-Cradle, recently presented during the group show Teknokroppen at the Fuglsang Kunstmuseum, best exemplifies her research. A series of silicone fetuses are placed inside what appear to be ‘alien’ cradles. Two umbilical cords connect each foetus to a central point on the ceiling. The installation conveys an imagery that is at times surreal and disgusting, almost science fiction. Marie Munk, as in this case, is used to creating bizarre hypothetical scenarios, not so far from the near future and not so improbable.

The relationship between the body and technology that the artist investigates is supported by scientific research. Specifically, Marie Munk draws attention to new technological inventions that, while supporting our work and more generally our lives, are capable of profoundly shaping our minds and actions. Marie Munk identifies the darkness of technologies in the commercial aspect, which lurks in every screen, conditioning our choices and thoughts. This discourse goes hand in hand with the environmental crisis. Globalisation and progress are inevitably causing worrying side effects. From the ever decreasing population growth to the high CO2 emissions, from the acidification of the oceans to the loss of biodiversity and so on. Marie Munk’s work is part of a broader discourse in this sense, with the intention of establishing a pause for reflection on our future, confronting the viewer with dramatic scenarios. The human body, always made of silicone also for a semantic reason, is the focus of the works. The shapes created by the artist do not reflect reality but trace details, textures, lines and colours to create no-gender ‘masses’. Non-human creatures that tend towards the discussion of human flesh in an increasingly digital world.