Artist in conversation: MARINA RENEE-CEMMICK

Marina works across multi disciplines, which all fundamentally stem from a strong drawing practice. Drawing is a process of understanding the world around her. She works from observation to explore the form and light of objects, people and landscapes; discovering how something works, it’s structure and it's relationship to the space around it. She makes figurative drawings, oil paintings as well as installations and performance. All explore the human body, as a vessel for experience. Her interests lie in how we inhabit our bodies, physically and emotionally, and their capacity to hold the memory of our lives and past generations. Her background in dance and physical theatre allows for a sensitivity and innate interest towards the expression of the body and it’s movement. In the process of creation, there is a constant dialog between materials and ideas; an expansion and contraction that is playful and fluid, and evolves during the making.

Follow Marina here.

- Welcome to The Holy Art. Could you tell us a little more about your background, and how did you begin creating art?

Both my parents are artists. They separated when I was little, but growing up my mother made ceramics and sculptural installations using natural materials, and my father bronze sculptures of wildlife. They never pushed me into art, but I was surrounded by materials, healthy encouragement and inspiring roll models, so I think it was a natural direction for me. I’ve drawn since I could hold a pencil, and remember the joy of being able to create whole worlds on a blank page. I would get lost in these creations, spending hours designing characters and their families, clothes and homes. People have always been my main interest. When I got to secondary school, inspired by a book ‘Importantly People’ that my dad found in an antique shop, which had illustrations by J H Dowd, I began drawing from life. I filled my class school books with everybody’s ears, noses, backs of heads. It was an obsession to capture what I saw. With daily practice and drawing on buses, trains, in cafes, I slowly got quicker.

- What art do you most identify with?

Artworks that reflect the world around us through a combination of representation and form, and at the same time show us something more about the emotional and psychological experience of human nature. Artists that explore the relationship between the meditative (internal) and contemplative (external) in order to move us beyond what we know. In relation to my own work, I take elements of Representationalism, Formalism and Expressionism, striving to express more than the surface, while keeping strong elements of the form and observational study.

- Can you describe one artwork or series from your oeuvre that you feel was pivotal in your career? 

I had a wonderful art teacher for my sixth form. She encouraged me to use oil paint. The first major work that I did was a 6ft x 4ft canvas titled ‘Sitting on the Fence’. I created it at a pivotal point in my personal development, questioning how the choices we make in life decided the lives we live and the people we become.

It depicts three self portraits. A central figure sits on a stool looking out to the viewer, two other figures sat on each shoulder, urging, questioning, pointing. Though rudimentary in it’s painting style and ability, it remains a pivotal piece for me establishing the future direction of my work, in combining figurative oil painting, a sense of narrative and the incorporation of religious iconography; all elements that continue to permeate my current works. It was inspired by the works of Jenny Saville. I had several commissions following this piece, and fell in love with oil paint.

- Which other great artists inspire you and why?

I’m continuously inspired by works of the greats - Michaelangelo, Rembrandt, Rodin and Velázquez. Each for their sensitivity towards, light, composition and technique. I visit the national gallery often to draw from their work. Egon Schiele for his line, character and ability to communicate senses and touch. Gustav Klimt’s composition and use of pattern and space. Lucien Freud’s application of paint and figurative paintings that become more than portraits. Paula Rego’s theatrical stagings and use of puppetry. Cathy Wilkes, for her sculptural narrative installations that permeate the atmosphere. Justin Mortimer’s figurative paintings have greatly influenced me over the last few years through their composition, Atmosphere and sense of suspended action.

Gregorz Gwiazda is one of my favourite sculptors, combining highly representational figurative sculpture with abstraction. Often the faces and key features are obscured. I also take inspiration from many theatre practitioners and performances including Butoh dance, Peeping Tom theatre Company, Theatre Complicite and Dimitris Papaioannou. I am grateful to be surrounded by many inspiring contemporaries and friends.

- Can you talk about the process of creating your work?

Drawing from observation is my personal process for understanding the world around me; howmobjects and people sit within space, therefore it is the foundation from which all my work stems. The process of constructing work is intuitive. It begins with an idea or something that catches my attention. This inspiration often arses from, encountering people, travelling or walking in the street; where urban spaces and nature and collide in the industrial landscape.

I often interpret these encounters by writing poetry and through observational drawing. The body and movement remain a central focus to all my work, and my background in dance and physical theatre support this. I then take drawings, writing and photographs back to my studio and begin to construct larger pieces in charcoal and oil paint.

There is a lot of experimentation with materials and work to leave space for the work to develop organically through a multitude of processes, from small sculptures, to oil pastels; keeping the conversation surprising and fresh. I rarely have a finalised piece in mind, instead there is a continuous dialogue of action and response. I often understand the full extent of the work long after I have competed it.

- What advice would you give to emerging artists entering the art world?

Have trust and faith in what you do. Work incredibly hard, and remember what drew you to this path. Doubts never go away, know that they are part of the process that will leave and return. Know what inspires you and Surround yourself with the people who do. Learn to value yourself and what you do. Eat well. Remember to sleep.

- What do you hope that the public takes away from your art?

It’s not for me to say what they should take away from the work, it is my job to create it and then allow it to be taken on it’s own journey through the eyes of the viewer. I hope that is affecting enough that it is remembered and returned to. For me the most powerful work remains relevant to today. George Orwells’ 1984, Munch’s Kiss, Michaelangelo’s Pieta; these are all just as, or even more relevant now, than when they were created, and so they have a timeless quality and beauty in their longevity. I hope that my works are stimulating firstly on an emotive level, then an intellectual level and thus finally on a spiritual level.

-  Finally, are there any projects you are currently working on and able to speak about?

Currently I am coming to the end of my MA as a Drawing Year student at the

Royal Drawing School, London. I’m working towards my final selection of works which will be on display in March 2021 at Christie’s Auction House, The Royal Drawing School Gallery and The Space Studios in Hackney. There will be a collection of Drawings and oil paintings exploring more primitive elements of human nature and the purifying qualities of water.