MARIELLA LEHNER 单雯⻜
Portfolio PDF
Vita
mariella.lehner@gmail.com
Series of 8
Inkjet, Collage, Acrylics, Varnish on Wood, Birch Veneer
20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 in)
“This series originates from two photographs I discovered in an antique store: images documenting the funeral of an unknown woman. For approximately three years, I have been engaged with questions of grief—how it is experienced on an individual level, how it is negotiated within a European social context, and how it manifests globally. Through news media and digital platforms, death is a constant presence, unless one actively chooses to look away. At the same time, living in Austria, death is largely absent from everyday, physical experience.
Encountering these intimate funeral photographs unexpectedly was initially unsettling, yet deeply moving. I decided to acquire them and spent considerable time engaging with them in the weeks that followed. What struck me was not solely the representation of death itself, but the tenderness, care, and devotion embedded in the rituals surrounding it: the preparation of the body, the careful selection of clothing and makeup, the folding of hands across the chest, the arrangement of flowers and ribbons. The act of photographing these moments on analog film—and investing in their development in multiple versions—speaks to an attentiveness and affection that extends beyond loss itself.
In this context, death is not the central issue; rather, it is the aftermath—the pain, attachment, and continuity of care that follow. Over time, my relationship to this woman has come to resemble that of a distant relative. This process prompted me to reflect on how we decide who is worthy of care, and how shared biology is often used to assign value and emotional proximity. This logic has never resonated with me. I understand empathy as something that can be learned and cultivated, much like a muscle: the more it is exercised, the wider the circle of care becomes.
Choosing empathy is not the most comfortable position. It would be easier to retreat into irony or emotional distance, yet comfort is rarely productive. Engaging sincerely with grief— even that of a stranger—renders the world more painful, but also immeasurably more beautiful.
My artistic practice is structured in cycles, with materials selected in direct response to content. In the context of this series, I work directly with the found photographic imagery, employing both digital and analog techniques to edit, manipulate, and collage the images, which are subsequently developed through painting. This slow process of layering—across materials, techniques, and visual languages—is fundamental to my work, regardless of medium. It reflects my way of understanding and engaging with a world in which singularities and absolutes do not exist, and meaning is formed through accumulation, contradiction, and continuity.”