MERIAN Collage

Born in Kobe, Japan, Mariko Hori ( 1985 ) studied architecture and is currently working as an artist between Belgrade, Serbia and Amsterdam, Netherlands. She is also a vocalist for a Tokyo based experimental band ‘Information’ and the organizer of an international experimental event ‘Soro-sorO’. She studied architecture, but was more attracted by the aesthetic aspects of the deterioration of buildings through ageing than she was by contemporary or innovative building techniques. She was particularly interested in the strong sense of an enduring existence that attaches to old buildings and artefacts. In her subsequent career as an artist, her interests have revolved around the concept of ‘atmosphere’ and things that are difficult to create new, such as the sense of existence, common sense, something in between or many ambiguous boundaries. Her works, consisting mainly of installations and collages, often study alternative atmospheric experiences and communications, or the way things are being, through modest yet intentional placement of carefully chosen objects to give texture to the space and time between structures.