Interview with Marina Núñez

q)Introduce yourself, name,age, location.

a)I´m Marina Núñez, 46, I live in Madrid.

q) Can you describe your path to being an artist? When did you really get into it?

a)Although I have always liked painting, it was not clear to me from the beggining, because I liked (and still like) many other careers too, like microbiology or genetics, or like psychiatry. But I finally decided to study fine arts because I thought It would probably be a more interesting world. And I´m sure it was the right decision, it´s a privileged work.

q) Describe your ideals and how they manifest in your work.

a)One of them is that difference won´t be silenced or marginalized. I represent otherness in bodies and identities trying to add suggestions to the very limited ranking of subjectivity stereotypes our society handle.

q) Is music a part of your studio time? What do you listen to?

a)Not at all, literature is fundamental, instead.

q) How would you describe your work to someone?

a)In few words, I´m representing aberrant or anomalous bodies that correspond to deviant or abnormal identities, as a way to defy the conventional canon about what a human being must be.

q) Influences?

a)Literature in general (science fiction being important in my iconography), some essays (Foucault, Haraway, Butler...), some films (specially horror genre), and in art, some periods (Barroque, Surrealism) and of course a lot of artists of all periods, from El Bosco to Marlene Dumas or Tony Oursler.

q) Describe your process for creating new work.

a)I have the idea and procedure very clear before beginning a new work. Although there is always some unexpected encounters during execution, for me mental activity, with no sketches or trials, is the moment when almost everything, from concept to iconography, from technique to syntax, is decided. Afterwards, it´s a question of achieving that painting, digital image or video fit my imagined image. A lot of hours, not too exciting. Finishing it´s a great moment!

q) What advice do you have for artists looking to show their work?

a)The obvious: work hard, and don´t become discouraged if things don´t happen as soon as you´d like, because art work must be seen as a long term career. Of course luck is important, but well done work should be the only essential concern.

q) What are you really excited about right now?

a)I´m producing some videos about possessed women, I´m enjoying the process more than usual!

q) What do you love most about where you live?

a)Madrid is a really open city, people here is warm with outsiders, that´s remarkable, I think.

q) Best way to spend a day off?

a)Reading. And with your people.

q) Upcoming shows/ projects?

a)The one of the possessed women, in a chapel which form part of a museum in Valladolid, Spain.

q) Where can people see more of your work on the internet?

a)In my website: www.marinanunez.net