Mark J Rothberg

How would you describe the work you do and why?

Through the tactile process of cutting, tearing, fragmenting, layering, and reassembling long held-onto materials, I create visual fields where memory, emotion, and subconscious imagery can surface safely. Having aphantasia (the inability to internally visualise) collage allows me to reconfigure fragmented memories into new external forms, mirroring the internal work of processing life experiences. Each fragment becomes both artifact and offering; a private reckoning transformed into a shared visual language.

For you what does being an artist mean?:

As an artist, what I term 'Introvectal™ release' occurs in the solitude and privacy of the studio, where deconstruction becomes meditation and the act of rearranging fragments becomes an intuitive method of self-inquiry. 'Extrovectal™ release' unfolds when the finished work enters the public space, inviting viewers to locate their own stories within the seams, ruptures, and juxtapositions. By embracing fragmentation as generative rather than destructive, my work proposes collage as both ritual and dialogue; a practice of internal clearing and external communion, where what is broken becomes connective tissue.

Describe what you call yourself/your practice?:

I am a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in collage at present, but also photography, painting and digital media, as a means of navigating the delicate threshold between inner and outer worlds. My current practice centres on what I have recently termed 'introvecta™'; the sum total of all thoughts, memories, beliefs and emotions that are carried within, and 'extrovecta™', the sum total of all the physical 'stuff' carried outwardly. A year involving death of a loved one, a new business venture and personal transformation were the catalyst for the creation of these new terms and a change of direction in my work. Collage for me then becomes a sort of transmutational processing of introvecta and extrovecta for final expression in the material world.

Your practice & activities include e.g workshops, teaching:

I am aiming to run workshops based on introvectal / extrovectal processing using collage as a primary medium. I will have more details on my website in due course.

CV & Education, relevant & leading to your artistic practice:

BA Hons Photography - 2016 - Hereford College of Arts

Your gallery outlets/stockists:

StudioFORTY2

Artwork for Mark J Rothberg

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