Dialog with space

The HangART-7 exhibition “Una Excursión Mexicana” in Salzburg’s Hangar-7, running until August 28, is a show of works by seven young, very individual Mexican artists. Answering questionnaires, they each describe their approach to art – and share some inside information along the way. Part Two: Mariana Magdaleno.

As fascinating as it is for children, Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” also gives adults enormous pleasure. For Mariana Magdaleno it is an endless source of inspiration – her central theme being childhood. And, using the trompe l’oeil technique, the 25-year-old artist does not balk at broaching the issue of the “adult” side of childhood. During the exhibition she and fellow artists will work “in situ,” the process of which Magdaleno talks about. She also shares how she feels when people observe her work, and discloses that sometimes not knowing how her art will turn out can be exciting.

How much connects you to the six other artists in this exhibition? And how much separates you?

I actually didn’t know the other artists personally before. I just knew their work, so the experience of getting to know them here is amazing. And although we’re all different, I feel a friendship with everyone.

What makes your art “typically Mexican?” Why couldn’t it have been created in any other country?

I don’t know if my work is distinctly Mexican. When you work on a wall you have an affiliation with Mexican art history but with the intention of delving into other realms. And I think every person, like every country, has different circumstances. I’m proud of having been born in Mexico.

Please give us three words that describe your work process.

Aversion. Fun. Satisfaction.

... and three that describe your artworks.

Freedom. Bittersweet. Alchemy.

What do you feel when people observe your work and you think it affects them – no matter how?

I like it because I can inspire a moment of reflection in the observers and also other ways of taking in reality.

Could you share with us a very personal anecdote about one of the pieces exhibited in Hangar-7 – or give us some sort of insider information about it that only you have been privy to until now?

I usually work with smaller formats, so creating something on a wall is a totally new process for me. I like to work without having a clue where the piece is going to end up when it’s finished, to have a dialog with space, playing with the elements that you have at your disposal, and seeing it from a different perspective every day. Apart from that, because it’s a transient work of art, I like to know the room, to work there, to observe and to remember it.