Merani Schilcher is a media artist and designer with a passion for the internet, machines and experiments. She puts a large focus on human characteristics in technology and how we as humans are currently using and connecting with it. Visualizing the balance between poetics and playfulness is her main goal.

She's a recent UDK Berlin graduate and has previously also studied in Taipei, Aberdeen and Stuttgart.

ArtConnect asked the winning artists to share with us a glimpse into their creative life to get a sense of their personal inspiration and artistic process.

What are some of the central themes you pursue in your work?

It took me a long time to figure out what it was that I wanted to say. For the longest time I was unsure about what I felt like contributing to the already very dense art world and what was relevant enough to deserve an audience. Until I realized that my personal feelings aren't too unique at all and that everyone can feel connected to the same emotions of feeling lost or angered about certain things.

Often people criticize artworks being too personal and thus not being able to reach a wider audience, but if you can't reach people by holding up a mirror to them through the very notion of being human, how else can you?

How has your art practice developed over time?

When I first started out, I put way too much meaning into the tools and skills needed to fulfill a project. Now I begin with my message and then try to figure out the most meaningful way to convey that message.

Technology is important, sure, but it should never be the main focus of any project viewed within the realm of art. Unless maybe you want to criticize the overbearing presence of technology in a lot of new media art.

What drew you to work with your medium/media of choice?

I'm not sure. I started out with classical drawing and painting, though I grew up pretty much attached to my desktop computer running on Windows XP for the longest time. The curiosity to work with machines was always there and there was never a moment, where I wasn't fascinated by using my hands to create something. A lot of art is thought of to be dying out and considering the times we live in now, I think it was just bound to happen that I would end up here.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as an artist?

I believe it's easy to get riddled with self-doubt when you're still unsure about your place in this whole industry. You feel like a guppy in a shark tank, looking up at all these crazy successful artists who have been around for decades, raking in millions while you're still fighting for every small chance you can get to show your work. But it's important to remember that you can be happy, even if you're not (yet) part of the Top 100 most successful living artist, you know? I think as soon as you're happy with what you're creating and don't necessarily need that outside affirmation, you're on a good path.

What does your creative process look like?

So usually I begin by doing a ton of research. It's almost never this fantastical moment of having a divine afflatus. After I'm done with that and have a skeleton of an idea, I try to find out if anyone else has done anything similar. Often this leads to frustration because realistically, everything has been done before. I try not to let this discourage me though and justify my work by saying it's just my personal take on the topic. And sometimes it might still be worse than the original, but this is also where you learn a lot. I think the process of learning something new is what's most important to me during my own creative process. Anyway, after that comes the realization/building and then the testing. And nothing ever works after the first try.

What are you currently working on or what's next?

So I just recently completed 3 projects. I got a couple ideas for new ones while working on the old ones but I haven't really started with anything yet. I just really enjoy materializing feelings using kinetic sculptures, so that's probably what will come next.

How does it feel to be selected as an ArtConnect Artist to Watch?

I'm incredibly grateful to have been selected. It's always a very unreal situation to come into contact with people who enjoy my work that is so deeply personal. It feels like they have a magnifying glass into my innermost thoughts and feelings. But it's of course also extremely exciting to be allowed to present these very personal aspects of myself to such a large audience.

Anything else you want to add?

Let's try to revolutionize the art market. It's been going on for way too long that easily digestible art has been the big player in sales, just because a lot of gallerists and curators use art as a tool to financially enrich themselves. Experimental Art gets left behind and we won't move forward if in a dystopia, we all end up making the same things because otherwise we couldn't survive.

See more of Merani Schilcher’s work

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