Member of the Who-ha da-da Artists' Fellowship - The true spirit of Primitive Art
Who-ha da-da site
Hello folks!
My name is Marcus Mårtenson. I was born and raised in
Stockholm Sweden but I moved to America when I was 6
years old. I lived there for 8 years and then I moved
back to Sweden when I was 13. I traveled up and down
the east coast and spent some time with my uncle who
lived in Texas. This was a great time in my life and
moving away from America was real hard for me. My
artwork contains lots of American motifs, and in a way
my art is a way for me to reconnect to that America
that I lost and had to leave behind. My art also
contains lots of religious references, particular to
Christianity. My grandfather was a priest in the
Swedish church and I was really close to him when I
grew up. Because both my parents traveled so much he
took care of my brother and I a lot. He would talk to
me about god and what he called “the invisible
reality”, or the spiritual dimension that exists yet
that we cant see. Today I am a student of theology and
find this to be a fascinating subject. I also study
Jungian Psychology and I am very interested in seeing
how we as humans can develop a new inclusive spiritual
language that dosent split apart but instead brings
together. I collect random pieces of wood that I find
on the city streets. With these I build mosaic like
installations where I tell stories, reflect on
memories, or just speak about weird things that have
inspired me. As far as artistic influences go I am
inspired by both Swedish and American folk artists,
but also lowbrow art, comics, and graffiti. One of my
favorites is the Swedish artist Albertus Pictor who
painted many interiors of Swedish churches in a naïve
style during the 15th century. Im also a big fan of
vintage horror films, rockabilly culture and stand up
comedy.
