My work over the past couple years has been inspired by making meaningful interpersonal connections, expressing vulnerability, and experimenting with new techniques. My practice gives me the ability to process and critically analyze personal delusion, as well as clarify and reclaim control from traumatic experiences.
There are two contradicting ideas I often return to in the beginning phases of a project, Carl Jung’s “synchronicity” and Robert Anton Wilson’s “chapel perilous”. Jung’s concept of synchronicity can be explained as meaningful coincidences, or cosmic signs. He described synchronicity as an "acausal connecting principle" where events in the external world might align to one’s own experience, mirroring or echoing personal thoughts and concerns. Is this just magical narcissism? I often believe that synchronicity is the language of the universe, a flow state of special happenings, whispering that you’re on the right path. Although, I find myself questioning that concept through Robert Wilson’s book, Cosmic Trigger. Wilson uses the term, “chapel perilous”, referring to a psychological state in which someone is uncertain whether a course of events is a product of their own imagination, or has been affected by a supernatural force. Chapel perilous resonates to me as a possible god complex one might experience during a manic episode. I enjoy the playful relationship teetering between paranoia and agnosticism or divine intervention and misapprehension. Alternating between these two contradicting thoughts, I hope to create dynamic tension, and the unknown throughout my projects.
Currently, my intention is to explore the effects of psychosis through conversation and connection, further my knowledge in behavioral science, and explore alternative or unorthodox methods of healing. I am interested in capturing visions and delusions through the eyes of individuals living with conditions such as borderline personality disorder, bipolar and schizophrenia. In the past my ability to stay grounded in reality has escaped me, and manic episodes have fueled paranoid deceptions which affected those closest to me. On the other hand, the intense passion for creativity spawned from my mania has been essential. Regardless of the outcome, the ability to witness and evaluate my own emotional, cognitive, and behavioral process is essential to understanding why I make art. Self reflection is an integral part of my practice.
Long story short, I revel in synthesizing fact with the metaphysical and science with the mystical. Through these intersections, I hope to share a spellbinding perspective on stigmatized issues, and question preconceived narratives on mental health.
Veronika Marks is a multidisciplinary artist from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with a Bachelors in Fine Art. Her work explores the outer fringes of human consciousness through an intersection of mysticism, sensuality, and emotional well-being. She uses a combination of performance, digital manipulation, sculpture and painting. Each medium informs one another as she moves intuitively through them.
Through meditation and trance induction, Veronika uses her body with others as a conduit in film to physically manifest visions. The imagery captured on video is then used as research and inspiration for her paintings and sculptures. Currently, she is working with volunteers who have agreed to embody a stream of consciousness, while revisiting lived experiences with psychosis.