German 
English 
Tanja Heuchele: Can you describe yourself in 5 sentences?
Mara Sandrock: I am enthusiastic and love new materials and innovations. Nevertheless, I also love traditional materials and impressive painting. I am always seeking development and transformation in personal and professional areas. I think we are better together and our chance lies in networking, digitally as well as personally, to transform the world into an equitable, fair, open and just space.
TH: Your life without art would be…
MS: I would burst inside and claw myself to bits every day!
TH: What material inspires you the most? And which materials are you working with the most at the moment?
MS: I like all sorts of materials! I decided to work with natural materials and try to fit them to my aesthetic feelings or expectations. At the moment I’m working with animal intestines as well as fungi, pigments and canvas.
TH: Are there also materials that you would never use again?
MS: I worked with epoxy resin and it does wonderful things, like covering stuff and preventing it from molding. It can look like water, and you can put anything into it to preserve it and keep it looking good. BUT it‘s quite toxic and just no good for the environment! It will last forever. I try to avoid creating things that will take centuries to disappear. I think it’s not fair to leave something behind that’s so harmful to our environment.
TH: What literature did you study for preparing your art piece(s)?
MS: I wish I could read more! I’ve started reading a couple of books lately: Emergence: The Shift from Ego to Essence – Barbara Hubbard; Heilung ist ein Raum [The Healing Space] – Peter Bourquin; Mehr [More] – Christoph Türcke; Körperbild und Bildkörper [Body Image and Image as Physical Body] – Lena Tacke
TH: What is your work about? What is your intention with it? What should it evoke in the viewer’s emotion?
MS: My work is about the inside and outside of the world. About the body, the essence, the soul, the emotion, the polymorphism, the interface between the self and the world, about evaluation and acceptance, about disgust and normality. My work seeks to harbor the wish to enter into it, to remain held in another itself.
TH: What about your next projects, exhibitions? Where can you be seen next?
MS: I can currently be seen in another group exhibition at the intershop gallery in Leipzig, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. In January I can be seen at XPINKY in Berlin with Patricia Lambertus and Jennifer Bannert. This will be followed by a number of collaborations and projects as well as two solo exhibitions next year. Stay tuned!
Photography by Gustav Franz
Portait (c) Iona Dutz