Marina Schwan sees art as an instrument to explore social and geopolitical issues. To her, art is an exploration of boundaries and possibilities that allows new perspectives to be discovered and entrenched conventions to be challenged.
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Marina Schwan believes that vulnerability, revealing yourself and your weaknesses promotes self-reflection in the individual and diversity within community. Her works therefore, seek to facilitate these kinds of discussions at a personal and societal level.
‘We have the ability to constantly adapt and compensate for our weaknesses, yet somehow, feelings of inadequacy persist. Our shame numbs us, and we are oblivious to it,’ says Schwan. ‘The purpose of these works is to emphasise the discrepancy between society’s demand for perfection and performance, and each individual’s anxiety that they don’t measure up’. She seeks to criticise our collective norms as they damage our individual needs.
Mistakes and correct letters are represented with horizontal and vertical bars. The horizontal and vertical bar can together be considered as an X and Y axis with X representing incorrect letters and Y the correct ones. A diagonal therefore represents the exact distance between the two axes and thus symbolises the balance between correct and incorrect, wrong and right. The balance of one's abilities is precisely measured against the norms, mores and rules of society.
January 2023
A children’s game about power and territory.
Reflecting on her childhood in Kazakhstan, Marina Schwan had always thought of ‘Taking Land’ as a simple game to keep the little ones entertained. Its deeper meaning was lost on her and the other local children, as they gathered excitedly each morning to challenge each other.
The rules were simple. The children stood on the edge of a large circle, the space divided equally amongst them. Lots were then drawn to see who would throw the knife first. When the knife landed point-first in the ground, the player carved a line from their position to the knife, redrawing the territorial borders and claiming more land for themselves. The goal is total domination.
Thirty years later, reliving this ostensibly innocent pastime with the next generation of her family, Schwan observed how the game rewards aggressive play, watching passively as her territory gradually diminished with each turn. What was once just a way to stave off boredom suddenly resembled Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
This strategic game that puts players in the roles of rival nations, annexing territory by force, parallels the political tensions and territorial conflicts of the present, particularly the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The shared themes of the game and grim reality highlight the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of both.
This method of play inspired Schwan, with its space, throwing and moves. ‘What used to be a popular children’s game in our country turned out to be a brutal reality. Maybe it’s my personal way of processing the current horror,’ she says.
As a painter, Schwan has interpreted these themes in a new and unique way.
Barefoot on a canvas, she throws brushes in paint and draws lines with a sharp palette knife. She presents a vast, stelliform palette of colours and shapes on a large scale, reinterpreting the game for herself. Through this playful effect, Schwan re-conceptualises and reimagines this children’s entertainment and juxtaposes it with harsh geopolitical realities.
January 2023