Artist statement

Some objects want to be touched, to be squeezed, to be taken… This invitation is the starting point of my work. It is the start of a physical encounter between the body and the object.

This physical encounter has several stages: it takes you from the exploration of the object to the awareness of the body in relation to the object. There are moments when the experience of the object and the experience of the body are the strongest. These are the moments when the object and the body start to coincide in one position, or movement. That is when I feel the need to preserve that position, or to keep that movement running forever…

Sometimes this ‘conclusion’ takes the form of a fairly common or known position or action. It can be disconcerting, while at the same time comforting. However sometimes a position is simply spasmodic.

Marieke Gelissen, June 2012.