Mount Eliza artist on a winning streak

The concept of multiples underpins much of what Marynes creates. “My first encounter with multiples and the power of multiples was as a child in Argentina,” she says. “When I was a child and teenager, we had the army regime, we experienced hardship. There were 30,000 people disappearing, and Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo met in the square and wore white fabric scarfs (created by using the old fabric nappies of their children) on their heads as a sign of protest, asking for their sons and daughters to come back. The wearing of these multiple scarfs – humble and everyday objects – became a symbol of resistance and courage. For me, the power of the scarfs on these mothers protesting peacefully every Thursday at 3.30pm for 45 years resonates deeply.”

Marynes’s work is all about the redefinition of the object, the symbolism behind a group of objects, a sense of identity and transcendence. “Multiples create transcendence.” In her home studio that overlooks a lush garden, she says, “As my garden grew, my practice grew,” speaking of her time tending her garden for the past 23 years. “I love nature and the seasons. Nature teaches us about the cycles of life. My work is a fusion between art and science and both are based in observation. I observe a lot.”

Her artistic expression began as a creative dancer in Argentina. Her artistic expression moved to visual art – sculpture, installations, micro photographs and drawing. A graduate of RMIT’s Masters of Arts – Art in Public Space program, Marynes has won many national art awards and has been selected to undertake many national and international artistic residencies delivering public art installations.

Last month her sculpture Indifference won the Mount Eliza Sculpture Trail 2022. Indifference, pictured, is an ongoing site-specific project, the outcome of 16 years of continuous collection of sea glass on the Peninsula’s foreshores. The work portrays a poignant assembly of some 1500 sea glass pieces taking centre stage in a sea of sand. The work is a commentary on oblivious human behaviour towards environmental issues. That win was quickly followed by the Toorak Village Sculpture Exhibition Traders Award 2022 for her piece Flora, Bearer of Plenty. She currently has work in the Art Red Hill virtual exhibition that can be viewed until June 5 at www.artredhill.redhillcs.vic.edu.au

“The works I’ve presented for Art Red Hill are a response to the surreal times of the COVID-19 pandemic and extend my ongoing research on the complexities of multiplicity. They utilise elements of nature such as blooming indigenous flowers from around the world, pine needles and leaves emerging from a microscopic image of the virus with its spikes morphing into petals as a metaphor of humanity’s hope and resilience.”

From June 9-27, Marynes’s work can be seen in the Association of Sculptors Victoria Annual Exhibition and Awards at the Victorian Artists Society, 430 Albert St, East Melbourne. You can follow Marynes on Instagram @marynes_avila_artist