Surreal Video Sculptures Blur the Line Between Screen & Real Life

Stills of “Pyramide”

All is not what it seems in sculptures by the artist known simply as Marck. In his alluring and enigmatic works, dimensions blur in a part-screen, part-tactile viewing experience. What happens on the screen in front of us directly influences the objects jutting from behind the frames that hold the large video screen, or vice versa. It’s a surreal sight as two seemingly disparate worlds influence one another in real time.

Marck’s piece titled Gear Nerd offers one of the clearest examples of the dichotomy. It features a woman on a screen with gears behind her. Around her neck is a chain, which she pulls from around her in a giant loop. An actual chain dangles from the video screen, timed and moving in sync with her to make it appear as though she’s manipulating the one that’s right in front of us.

Gear Nerd was inspired by the woman in the video, whose name is Tima. “When I work with people, images form very quickly in my mind,” Marck tells My Modern Met. “Which story does this person belong to? How can a human being be conveyed in the most truthful way?”

Curiosity is at the center of Pyramide, where performers interact with a pyramid that’s both submerged in water and sitting atop the screen’s surface. “They are curious, yet highly cautious,” Marck explains. “They cannot assess the object—and still, they are unable to resist it. This tension between attraction and uncertainty is a feeling most people recognize.”

Dream Busted offers another familiar emotional perspective. “[It] addresses something deeply familiar, often in a negative sense, especially in love,” Marck shares. “At the beginning, everything feels beautiful; we dream and imagine everything in shades of pink. Unfortunately, this has little to do with the other person and much more to do with our own projections. Then reality arrives, and hopes and dreams collapse.”

No matter the subject matter, the video sculptures provoke awe. It’s hard to stop watching Marck’s mesmerizing pieces, which allow us to focus on how they make us feel—something that the artist wants to leave completely up to the viewer. “Ultimately, my own explanations of my work are not what matters most to me,” he says. “Art should trigger something—it should not explain my path. That is my responsibility.

“The more important question is: What do you see, and what do you feel, when you encounter one of my works?”

Scroll down to see more from the artist, and then follow him on Marck on Instagram to see what he’s working on next.