EXHIBITION PERFORMANCE PROJECT
Echo - Morphed Mythologies exhibition
2024 | Echo- Morphed Mythologies at Het Tijdelijk Museum of Modern Art (currently located at Huidenclub) is a performative exhibition presenting three artworks produced through three alter-egos of Maren Bang. Read moreMaren Bang works interdisciplinary with a combination of objects, text, film, and performance, oftentimes using the mechanisms of the field to say something about the field itself.
Experimenting with elements from theatre, she explores performance not only as a means for presentation but for production - embodying various narratives while crafting through different mediums and techniques. Her practice addresses topics like control, systems, narratives, and the idea of constructing and reconstructing identities.
VIDEO SCULPTURE PERFORMANCE
Morphed Flex
2024 | A part of Echo-Morphed Mythologies in the character of Nolan Meier.As in previous productions, Nolan Meier works with references to gender, identity and expressions of self to create phantasmic and arguably ‘useless’ objects. In ‘Morphed Flex’ he imagines a modern day Narcissus and draws a parallel between the performance of power in the context of bodybuilders and in the context of finance and politics. Working with videoclips of public appearances of his subject, Meier uses repetition of gestures to exaggerate the performance of masculinity to the point of parody. How does the theater of power differ from actual power, if at all? Read more
SCULPTURE PERFORMANCEPull Me In and
Let Me Drown in Your Abyss
2024 | A part of Echo-Morphed Mythologies in the character of Ole Riemann.
‘But Narcissus’ body was nowhere to be found. In its place, they discovered a yellow flower with a white corona in its midst.’ (Ovid, 8 AD). ‘Pull Me In and Let Me Drown in Your Abyss’ draws on the myth of Narcissus, who lost himself in his own reflection before undergoing metamorphosis and reappearing as a narcissus flower. In this work, as in others by Riemann, the original function of a carpentry piece is subverted, allowing the object to take on new meaning as a symbolic memento or prop. Read more
SCULPTURE PERFORMANCE
Let Me Drown in Your Abyss
SCULPTURE PERFORMANCE
Echo’s Vessels
2024 | A part of Echo-Morphed Mythologies in the character of Marion Nelé.‘Echo’s Vessels’ imagines Echo who, in a desperate attempt to attract the man she loves, creates bait to hold the only thing he has ever loved: his own reflection in the water. The concept of a vessel connects to both the womb and the process of becoming, as well as to urns and the passage of time. Nelé uses clay as an entry point for anthropological exploration, drawing from her fascination with artifacts as vessels of heritage and carriers of tacit knowledge. Read more
PROJECT THESIS
Uncontrollability Or Paranoid Production And Perception
Or You’re So Paranoid You Probably Think This
Project Is About Me
2021 | Why would it be easier to produce three convincing projects under false narratives than manifest a single project based on actual conviction? The project depicts an undefinable, rootless and paranoid field shaped by inferiority complexes that use intellectual, wordy, complicated criticality in an attempt to make itself appear relevant and important. Read more
PROJECT EXHIBITION
Flex for Flux
2021 | A part of Uncontrollability or Paranoid Production and Perception or You’re So Paranoid You Probably Think This Project is About Me.
Flex for Flux critiques gender norms and biases in craftsmanship, questioning if contemporary art and design institutions perpetuate stereotypes. A short-film features a secret male crochet club making biceps as masculine emblems. Read more
PROJECT Back to Scratch
2020 | Exploring asceticism and the pursuit of a new beginning, this project delves into carving to achieve a perfect fit, using body parts for measurements to rationalize the irrational and enhance a sense of control and order through subjective objectivity. Read more
GRANT
Talent Development
2023 | Interview by Priscilla de Putter for the Stimuleringsfonds NL in the occasion of the exhibition “The Rest Is Still Unwritten.”
EXHIBITION
Big in Berlin
2023 | "Big in Berlin" features a damaged package and emails with the curator regarding an artwork that never made its way to an exhibition. Depicting the story of a non-exhibit it questions the motivation of both artist and curator to exhibit at all. Read more
PROJECT
Touch Me, But Don’t Ever Make Me Wet
2021 | A part of Uncontrollability or Paranoid Production and Perception or You’re So Paranoid You Probably Think This Project is About Me.
The fountain offers the best of both worlds; ephemeral pleasure and trustworthy predictability. It investigates human-centrism and the need (and ability) to control nature and natural phenomena. Read more
PROJECT
Learning from Lynch
2019 | Learning from Lynch attempts to translate some of Lynch’s concern for the media-industry to personal concerns for my own field. Sampled footage is presented in two parallel movies, played on a total of nine TV-screens. Read more
Interview with GoodTimesBadTimes
at Nieuwe Instituut
2024 | A conversation between Taya Reshetnik, Elif Satanaya Özbay, Maren Bang and Ben Earl from GoodTimesBadTimes Radio recorded during the Stimuleringsfonds X Nieuwe Instituut Talent Day at the Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam.
Listen to the conversation here
PROJECT
How to Design the Designer Through Rebirth Rituals - A Seekers Guide
2019 | Inspired by DIY culture and self-improvement, the guidebook melds the Bauhaus Method with Wiccan principles into a 7-day plan culminating in a ritual to transform into a designer.
PROJECT EXHIBITION
Exported Heritage
2021 | A part of Uncontrollability or Paranoid Production and Perception or You’re So Paranoid You Probably Think This Project is About Me.
Exported Heritage explores the clash between traditional craft and digital fabrication. A hand-carved nordic "skatoll" replicated using 3D CAD and milling machines reflects upon preservation of cultural heritage in a tech-driven society. Read more
PROJECT COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION
Interspecies Saga
2020 | By Pauline Rip, Ramon Jimenez & Maren Bang. Featured at the 2021 Istanbul Design Biennale, this mockumentary challenges anthropomorphism in human interpretations of nature. Drawing from historical, religious, mythological, psychological, and fandom perspectives, it explores how humans internalize and externalize the natural world. Read more
EDITORIAL VISUAL DESIGN
Peacock Cabinet
2021-2023 | Writing, editing and graphic design for Ph.D. candidate Bjørn Jørund Blikstad at Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Read more
PROJECT
52 Reasons.
2018 | A stack of 52 cards is filled with elaborate explanations in International Art English. Placed alongside virtually any project, this experiment questions whether statements or artworks takes precedence in viewer perception.
PROJECT
2021 | Throughout a 1-minute film a standard assessment scale is extended from 5 to 8. Based on manipulated assessment forms and recorded feedback, the experiment proved to be a pivotal moment in my working methodology. Read more