Roxana Morar (b. 1997, Baia Mare) works and lives in Bucharest and is part of the artist community at Atelerele Scânteia. Over the years, she has studied courses at the University of Art and Design Cluj-Napoca, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts in Bari.
In her practice, she has developed a special interest in the matter, the effect of its circulation in different systems, the transfer of information and human interaction in various contexts. Her projects are not limited to a single medium and at the same time touch upon the area of anthropological and social sciences, aiming to simultaneously highlight the role of art in the relationship between the public, the artist and the context.
Images Foto Credits: Teodor Preluca
Videographer: Raul Bodoni
Q&A with Roxana Morar
When did you discover your passion for art and what does art mean to you?
I’ve always been curious about drawing and image-making, a medium that helped me discover my passion for the “act of observing”. To be able to make any kind of drawing, you had to know how to observe everything around you or what structures of visual communication were available to you. The rest of my curiosities about other mediums emerged along the way and developed smoothly, mostly depending on the resources I had available and the needs of the project I was working on at that time.
Briefly describe yourself: what excites you, what makes you angry?
I am excited when sudden moments occur, in which I discover things I could have easily missed had I not been present at that particular moment, in that particular context. I like coincidences and spontaneous experiences, things that can lead to multiple readings of a small gesture, such as (this is a rather absurd example) random interesting shapes of leaves on a tree.
Describe your artistic vision: sources of inspiration, methods, messages you want to convey to your audience.
‘Learning by doing’ is a kind of learning that I am striving to relate to more and more. I believe that, combining mediums and experimenting, you often draw conclusions linked to your own subjective way of relating to material and what that information means to you.
At the same time, through my work, I like to draw attention to gestures or regular things / things that we are used to, but which bear multiple understandings. Looking at personal projects and research, I often leave the conclusions “open ended” and intend to enable my audience to interact with the object and create their own trajectory.
Who has influenced you along the way and how?
The relationships with the people around me and the flow of events that happened in my life. But, being an analytical person, who also likes to reinvent perspectives with the aim to analyse a situation, an action or an object, I like to infer or make connections among context – people – objects – actions etc.
Which of your artworks you like the most and why?
It is hard for me to answer such a question, because the need to bring an artwork or an idea to life has always had its own reasoning in different timelines. I believe that every experiment also has its own purpose in a process of learning, deducing and re-concluding ideas. Thus, I believe that every endeavor in any attempt to create an object, action or event, has its own role in completing a clearer picture of “a way of being as an artist”. From my point of view, it is a continuous process and every endeavor and artwork contribute to this whole.
Tell us about a moment in your career so far that made you happy?
I like the moments when, after busy periods of time, with rich conclusions, I can step away from the constant loop of events that are being created and recreated and look back. It makes me happy when I realize that any effort I put happens naturally, without pushing personal boundaries, and I am still aligned with the ideas and points of interest that excite me.
What do you expect from Accelerator program?
I can’t say I have set any expectations so far with regards to Accelerator, but I am happy when there is a space for discussion with mentors with other artists, where we can develop ideas and exchange resources and opinions.
What artist inspired you and why?
I like to follow styles related to developing ideas and, with this in mind, I could say that I have been inspired in my projects by artists such as Anna Maria Maiolino, Pamela Rosenkranz, Francis Alÿs, Francis Alÿs, Agnieszka Polska, Rachel Whiteread, Ana Lupaș, Alison Knowles, Christo and Jeanne-Claude as well as the Fluxus movement.
What are your plans for future?
I want to continue this process of blending environments and creating events that develop and restructure the way we look at what surrounds us.