Amsterdam based artist, Milena Naef is combining the body with marble. Milena comes from a family of sculptures so people would assume that’s why she began to work with stone. But this was a constant frustration for her as she didn’t want to just follow in her family footsteps, she wanted to create something of her own. Out of this desire, the series “Fleeting parts” was born. The idea first struck her when seeing marble plates while at school. With marble plates, she can handle the weight without extra help. With this new discovery, she began to use marble in a way no one in her family had before.
In her series titled “Fleeting Parts,” Milena is doing more than creating a sculpture, she is becoming one. First, she carefully cuts out sections of the marble that will later fit her body. Since the material is not flexible her measurements and cuts must be exact to create a seamless transition from marble to the skin. In some cases, she is letting the heavy marble lean onto her for support and in other cases, she is holding the entire weight on her back. In this way, she is becoming part of the stone.
“I am fascinated by the thought that our bodies stand in a constant ‘choreography’ with their environment. Due to the inevitable presence of our bodies, I believe that we define ourselves through the constant interaction we are forced to have with our surroundings. Our own creations have allowed us to appropriate, to cultivate and to reflect upon the spaces we inhabit.” – Milena Naef
Fleeting Parts
Cristallina Marble, MDF, Plaster, Dimensions variable, 2016
Photographs by the amazing Lisa-Marie Vlietstra and Alice Trimouille
Artists Channels: milenanaef.com/
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