The work of Mari Mahr is deeply personal and autobiographical, yet addresses universal human concerns regarding where it is that each of us come from, and where it is that we each belong.
Her work has been exhibited worldwide including at the Serpentine, London and is held in numerous important collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London
I chose Mari Mahr as a photographer to research as many of her images contain a variety of objects: clocks, birds, fish, books, picture frames, eyes, stars, buildings etc. This could link to the theme of conventions as they seem to be relatively domestic objects suggesting the life of a family or community.
Mari Mahr constructs her photographs from artefacts of her past life and that of her family. She was born in Chile, grew up in Hungary and moved to London in 1972. Her father was an architect but died when she was twenty four. Her mother was a translator; work that brought her into contact with Che Guevara and Pablo Neruda. These diverse origins are represented in her work by an equally diverse selection of objects
This series Between oursleves: ‘My Daughter, My Darling’… and ‘Time for Sorow’ all use the same stage and the same backdrop within their seires; the only variations being in the lighting and in what is displayed. This simplicity is her strength, for she needs little to tell her stories; leaves for the time of year, but also for her memories. Her photographs are therefore both imitations of remembrances and completely artificial. This is clear in her use of old photographs. A story is told as if it were a myth or nursery rhyme combining a landscape and objects that carry a symbolic meaning
NEW PLACES – NEW CODES (2000)
“These are based upon recollections – sometimes vague and sometimes quite specific from that miraculous time when as a child I was trying so hard to make sense of all the people and all the things around me.”” So, existing in a kind of limbo, these images of mine might be seen as reality re-considered – things that I might or should have said at the time.”
SYMBOLS OF OURSELVES (2002)
“All through the ages and in all cultures there have been effigies made to represent us – sometimes for religious reasons, sometimes for commerce and sometimes just for play. My house is full of them.”
“I see these faces around me not as specific representations of particular people, but representing all people. This generic quality has made them especially suited to their being cast as characters with universal significance in some of my previous works.”
“These portraits are a tribute to this international ensemble that surrounds me.”