We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mariana Demarco. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mariana below.
Mariana, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Since very young, I have always been aware of death. Having lost my father at a very young age, and then, throughout my childhood, spending quite a lot of time inside a hospital because of my mother’s work, made me have such proximity to the concept of death. To such a degree, I feel that this type of experience has shaped me as a person and an artist.
Being quite young and having to linger in solitude through dark, empty, and old hallways of the small hospital of my city, and having that being my playground, was where I would let my imagination and creativity go loose. I would spend days, after days, reading books, drawing, and making up stories by myself. However, as time passes, you grow up and realize places that once gave you such comfort, are now only memories in your brain.
Therefore, I found my purpose through my memories and traumas from childhood. Somehow, between past and present, making art has always been a part of me, molding my character and, making my life worth living. My purpose in life is a reflection of the good and bad I have lived and, in a way, instinctively, have always been connected with art. As a person and an artist, I would be happy to live a life where my art could help others to understand better such complex feelings and concepts, as death, love, and solitude. I hope that my way of imagining this world and living through it could be a safe place, where the observer appreciates art and comprehends themselves a little bit more.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I was born in the 2000s in southern Brazil, where I still live and work. In 2023, I graduated in Visual Arts with a bachelor’s degree in Drawing and Plastics from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) in Brazil. During graduation, I fell in love with the art of printmaking. Printmaking, together with the medium of artists’ books and collages became my favorite way of working, where the materiality and textures of art itself became alive. Overall, understanding the concept of time, this incredible force that molds every living being and changes even the most concrete of materials. The comprehensive idea that books and paintings have a life within them, equally like animals and plants, where time can interfere even so deeply is what I am curious about at this very own moment.
Consequently, my artistic research explores the human experience imprinted through our emotions, explorations, and thoughts within the context of the contemporary world. Investigating themes that affect all human beings, regardless of our infinite differences as individuals, I hope to understand better what being alive means to me through art. That being so, I have been proposing a dialogue between the multiple engraving techniques, the written word of books, and the creation of a peculiar and intimate artistic universe that can represent my vision of subjects such as fear, death, and memory.
Through these topics that affect the human psyche, I employ the figure of animals, insects, and living microorganisms, such as cells, fungi, and bacteria as means to create an imaginary where I can examine my memories, traumas, and mistakes. With the purpose of trying to understand the interrelationship of these enigmas with the passage of time and our inevitable death as ephemeral living beings. Therefore, seeking to create a possible provocation for viewers about what it is like to live as this rational and emotional animal in our contemporary society.
In the future, as a way of building my artistic career, I hope to enter an art master’s program at the University of São Paulo (USP). Until then, I’m working as an independent artist focusing on doing art residencies and exhibitions as a way of getting more experience since I’m still a young artist. At the moment, I’m also an intern at an art institute where I live, cataloging works of art and learning more about curatorship and galleries ins and outs.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Throughout my life, I have always been a weird being with a lot of insecurities about myself, my future, and my art. However, as I grow older I gain more perspective on a couple of things that made me a better person and artist. First and foremost, I believe one of the most essential things you can do to improve is to be true to yourself. I’m aware that sounds like a catchphrase but actually not many people truly do it. The scary thought of knowing what lies underneath and unveiling your real self to the world comes with a lot of fear and insecurity. However, for me, the best art comes instinctively from within, when looking inside myself with honesty and acknowledging my deepest fears, secrets, and mistakes, the good and the bad with no judgment.
The second thing that I believe is very important is maintaining a good work ethic. Understanding that making art is your job and is as crucial as any other one is a way of valuing your art in this world. For mediocre creatures as most of us are, that didn’t grow up being a gifted precocious child and later a naturally talented artist, is necessary to work hard. Go to all the classes, read all the books and articles asked, practice drawing exercises again and again, and actively listen to your teachers and peers. All this knowledge can be freedom and can make you more confident in your work.
Last but not least, be curious about life. That can take you a long way.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
During the last couple of years of my graduation, I was diagnosed with OCD, Anxiety, and Depression. Somehow, all the crippling feelings I felt all my life had a name and I would be able to get help. After that, I started my treatment but, now and then, I still feel very overwhelmed living in this 21st-century, chaotic, modern world.
Wherever I feel like that I try to unwind by listening to a playlist in a place I enjoy around the house while drinking coffee. I also like making lists that can help organize my thoughts and setting a small goal for the day, that way taking off the pressure so I don’t end up lost into doing a lot of useless stuff. Also, going for a walk, doing exercises I enjoy, and turning off my phone usually help me.
Of course, everyone is different, but I believe allowing yourself to take time off in the middle of chaos with no self-judgment is really important. If I feel overwhelmed with a lot of things to do, I give myself permission to relax, sleep, or do something I truly enjoy like draw or read. Knowing that not every day is your best day and that sometimes taking a break can make you more productive and have more ideas. It’s okay to be a slow creator despite what social media makes us believe in.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marianademarco.art/
- Other: my personal profile: https://www.instagram.com/maamind/
