Marina Sulima
I use illustration, animation, textiles, sculpture and film to tell stories about worlds that seem derailed.
This translates sometimes into essayistic visual narratives with an absurd logic in which fact and fiction alternate. I draw inspiration from found maps, manuals, recipe manuscripts or encyclopedias.
My work follows objects. Sometimes they are parcels full of food sent home by migrants, sometimes it’s a shrimp’s inner ear, a mined stone or an industrially grown tomato. Following the paths of such objects is fascinating. They lead to intricate stories, histories, futures, emotions, absurdities and paradoxes.
F. Starik, one of Amsterdam’s city poets said once that we are story machines. I would add that stories are all around us, we are mere story carriers. It’s a task and a craft and I treat with joy, a dose of absurdity and humor.