It Began With A Galactic Collision
LIFE, DEATH AND
THE UNIVERSE
Lauren Marx is a talented young artist living in Missouri. In 2014, she graduated from Webster University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts with an emphasis on drawing and has been creating beautiful works of art which explore the themes of zoology, cosmology and mythology.
Lauren's work at first might be viewed as dark as she clearly explores themes of decay and death, but in seems to me more like she is exploring the cycle in nature where death actually gives life - as a creature dies it's body feeds the earth and other animals, allowing the cycle of life to carry on. with the animal motif prevalent in almost every piece, it's little wonder Lauren's cites animals as her biggest passion and would spend many hours at the zoo as a child which sparked a keen interest in biology.
“Animal symbolism, biology, mythology, and cosmology have always been intriguing to me. My attraction to these topics have compelled me to find a way to create images that combine elements from these dissimilar fields to shape a universe that reflects my unique understanding of the interconnectivity of life.”
Art for me has to be challenging. Art that is purely beautiful is nice of course, but it's exists at a very surface level for me. I prefer work that can you make you feel slight discomfort or unease and make you see beauty where there might at first be none.
The themes in Lauren's work might initially seem grotesque and almost cruel, but once you look beyond this first impression it is clear to see she explores all the facets of nature and our universe, which aren't always beautiful.
If I ever win the lottery, once of these artworks is coming home with me.
“My goal in creating my illustrations is that this symbolic representation allows the viewer to see these phenomena as a complete picture. A picture of an interacting universe filled to the brim with animals, plants, fungi, and insects. Using these organisms, I am going to make my own mythologies of nature and the Cosmos to better illustrate how humans attempt to understand the epic intricacies and mysteries of the Universe.”
