Maureen Bachaus

Liminal Zones exhibition by Maureen Bachaus together with Natascha Waeyen, May 2022.

For the series Liminal Zones, after which this exhibition is named, Maureen set to work with questions such as: How does man relate to his changing environment? Is the human being a product that can be packed, sent away or shipped to achieve an economic or political goal? Do people seek protection by creating their own, safe world? Or do they take on a director’s role in order to control and shape the changing outside world? In view of the recent developments in Ukraine, the questions have acquired an unexpected and deep meaning.

Bachaus’ artistic search led to a number of symbolic portraits, including portraits of the autistic teenager Gwen. Gwen chooses to live in ‘Zones’: each with its own theme, story and environment. She decides every day in which Zone she wants to live. And thus also determines from which perspective she views the world that day. From this point of view, she devises solutions for challenges that come her way. And while Gwen implements all this very visibly and resolutely in her personal environment and styling, this approach can be traced back to all those portrayed by Maureen in this series. Without exception, they choose to view our changing world from a personally designed perspective. And from here they meet today’s challenges.


Exhibition 2018, ‘Under the Surface’, Prices €300 -€2000,-

Christina de Vos and Maureen Bachaus

Maureen Bachaus


Some of the works of the exhibition in O-68 in 2013

 

 

 

Biography Maureen Bachaus

Works in various techniques

The work of Maureen Bachaus consists of assemblages, photoprints, installations and video-art. All the works are actually ‘portraits’ of people, in which their feelings and thoughts have been a focal point.

Limitation of freedom

An (often enlarged) photoprint acts as a background, with assembled elements which suggest a portion of the underlying story. A frequently used material is rope, sometimes pierced rawly through the image. This rope, sometimes in a knot, sometimes with hanging parts, symbolizes the limitation or even captivity but also the freedom experienced by certain thoughts and feelings.

The human psyche

Another essential aspect of Maureen Bachaus’ work is the human psyche, the freedom of expression, the human identity. Intense conversations with people become increasingly important as an input for her work, and have led to the ‘Identification project’. Core questions of the ‘Identification project’ are: who are you, and how did you become the person that you are? Is your identity your own free choice or is this determined by your genes, your country, your religion, your family, or your government? The identification project consists of photo-assemblages, installations and video-art projects.

Website Maureen Bachaus