Fish Factory

Melanie is an artist, originally from Munich, Germany, who has lived in the United States for the past 9 years. She joined us here at the Factory in September 2017, continuing work related to an ongoing interest with in-between spaces.

‘the interstice that divides generations; the invisible breath that separates my body from yours. In turn, ideas of inherited, national trauma, and the interdependence of individual and collective healing, are central to my practice. I strive to make work that bridges gaps –joining emotional and physical therapy– to promote our human desire to connect across identities, languages and other imposed boundaries.’

Melanie’s work often takes the form of wearable art pieces, and sometimes sculpture, or books, as with her studied trade in book binding and print making.

Melanie Teresa Bohrer // Previous Works

At the Fish Factory, Melanie was primarily working on a project titled the keeping and telling of secrets. In this piece, she worked on the premises of burden, relief, and displacement of emotional weight, that occurs when sharing intimate thoughts. To this end, fifty-six numbered chiffon bags were filled with one kilogram of black icelandic sand (equal to her body weight), and closed with a continuous, medical suture stitch. This transpired into a video performance where the bags were piled on top of her body, and the stitches gradually opened, returning the sand to the shore. The video ends, with a post-mortem shot of two piles: fifty-six kilos of black sand, and fifty-six empty, stained and torn bags. Both a memorial to the release of secrets.

Melanie Teresa Bohrer // Keeping and Telling of Secrets 

Aside from this, Melanie worked on a digital artist book, titled  ‘9 4.5 70,560′.  The book was inspired by the 70,560 minutes in which she shared a bed with her partner after their break-up, and before her return from Chicago to Munich. The abstracted photographs of bed sheets, act as a physical representation of the space between them.

Given the format of the digital book, the viewer is detached from the imagery, swiping at their desired pace through a previously emotionally charged and quite intimate space.

Melanie Teresa Bohrer // 9 4.5 70,560

//More of Melanie’s Artwork//

https://www.melanieteresabohrer.com 

Check out the interview about her stay here:

Thank you, Melanie!