Mariana Arda
Artists in residence for the month of January 2024
After the Birds Silence
‘After the Birds Silence’ delves into the internal process that unfolds during moments of profound solitude, as we willingly expose ourselves to our silence.
In the contemporary world, silence is a rare gem awaiting rediscovery—not due to its absence, but rather the non-existing coexistence with it. When granted a brief opportunity to embrace it, an intensely almost unbearable silence surfaces, the terrifying personal silence known only to ourselves becomes audible. The apprehension of experiencing it is rooted in the understanding that it brings forth a multitude of questions.
This artistic endeavor serves as a portal into a multi-layered narrative, expressed through introspective prose that underscores the significance of embracing solitude. It accentuates the necessity of being present within our internal tumultuous silence. The exhibition extends this experience onto the Icelandic landscape, utilizing the metaphor of mountains to symbolize distinct phases of the process. It’s an internal dematerialization that happens when we delve into the essence of our silence and reveal the cascade of our thoughts, worries, fears, and dreams.
During this dematerialization, we witnessed a unique period that guides us towards an inevitable acceptance of our vulnerability to the world. The beauty of this acceptance lies in the “after”, a state that ideally projects an intuitive continuity through an open window —a continuous exploration and understanding of oneself in relation to the vulnerability of being now on the other side of the window.
Mariana Arda Bio
Mariana Arda is a visual artist that likes to immerse herself and extend her work in various artistic fields, between, drawing, painting, collage, and filmmaking.
Grew up in Odemira, a singular village nestled in a valley adorned with white houses and a river in Southwest Portugal. Attributing her profound sensitivity to the simplicity and tranquility of her rural upbringing. “Spending my childhood in Odemira allowed me to grow at the rhythm of luxury—time, simplicity, and an appreciation for the mundane.” Completing her Master’s in Architecture in vibrant cities like Lisbon and Venice, Arda’s academic journey significantly influences her artistic evolution.
She works in a hybrid approach, blending analog processes with digital layering, that builds a web of most of her works. She believes that the audience has also a role to play in the work, seeing its completion not merely upon delivery but in the active engagement of observers, by incorporating them as quasi-performers, whether within the spatial context or directly interacting with the artwork.
Arda’s work captures not only the personal journey but also the simple shared human experience, exploring the interplay between the small details and the vast space in human vulnerability. From her perspective, delving into such realities is what ignites her creativity. ”The discreet details on which we build our real stories are the ones that bring me the purpose to create and share something, that is definitely not new, but rather something that definitely needs retelling.”
