ode to changes

The project ode to changes, is a 13 minutes long slide projection consisting of 4 small photo essays produced before, in the beginning, during, and end of the Covid lockdowns. With the piece she wishes to document the surreal strangeness the world experienced in 2020 and 2021. It is an iteration of the graduation piece belonging without belonging from 2020, which focused on the housing crisis and optimism occurring during the first lockdown. However, ode to the changes elaborates on the opportunity for changes post lockdown, while it is the artist’s hope that the last year’s experience will result in reforms in the current housing situation.

In the process of making the piece, Maarbjerg chose a specific spot to photograph which relates to the project. In terms of working with homes, housing and the housing crisis, the artist visited IKEA, Botanic Gardens and the Natural History Museum which all depict constructed environments, pretending to be homes, yet imitating reality. A parallel to the feeling some tenants experience, when living in rented accommodation; the place where one lives is not really a home.

The piece was exhibited in Grangegorman, TU Dublin in June 2021 and re-exhibited in RHA from November 2021-January 2022.

https://rhagallery.ie/events/exhibitions/maria-maarbjerg-ode-to-changes/