Patterns of Pathology (2025)
Augmented Reality
"Patterns of Pathology" is an augmented reality (AR) work, focusing on the often overlooked aspects of medical history, particularly concerning the discrimination against women and the assessment of "normal" versus "abnormal" body data. The project utilizes historical and contemporary EEG (electroencephalography) data as its foundation. EEG, a tool used in neurological research, measures and records brain activity. Bart incorporates these recordings into her work.
The project is divided into three chapters, each unlocked by scanning collages on the screens. This interaction triggers short audio introductions and animations. These animations are derived from EEG data of seven women from the 1940s, which Bart creatively brings to life, fostering an interactive dialogue with the audience.
"Patterns of Pathology" is the result of a collaborative effort between artist Marlene Bart and scholar Flora Lysen, initiated by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science.
The work is directed and written by Marlene Bart, produced in collaboration with Ikonospace, with scanning contributions from Bart and Alan Horsley. The text is authored by Bart, and the music is composed by Daniel Benyamin.
The Patterns of Pathology app will be available for download here shortly
Theatrum Radix (2024)
Virtual Reality Animation, 17 minutes
"Theatrum Radix" is a transdisciplinary virtual reality project by artist Marlene Bart in collaboration with Ikonospace founder Joris Demnard and 3D artist Manuel Farre. Through surreal stories about nature, in combination with CT scans of the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, a modern architecture of knowledge is designed.
The project ties in with a theme that has fascinated people since antiquity. The order of things and beings. The design is based on the artistic research of Marlene Bart, on encyclopaedic metaphors of the world.
"Theatrum Radix" stimulates a surreal dialogue on the role of objects in scientific and artistic discourse by considering both their historical connection and contemporary perspectives on encyclopaedic knowledge architectures and the presentation of natural and artistic artefacts.
Metaphors have defined our knowledge and museum culture and the relationship between humans and nature from the beginning of the modern era. World events were presented in the form of a book, a theatre or a mirror (micro-in-macrocosm) to explain the processes of nature and the cosmos. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin used the tree metaphor to convey his theory of evolution, and in the 21st century many disciplines refer to the network or rhizome metaphor. The VR project draws on these metaphors of knowledge.
An other important point of reference is the design of a memorial theatre and a book about it by the Italian philosopher Giulio Camillo. Camlillo designed a theater based on the seven known planets of his time. Like Camillo's theater, "Theatrum Radix" has seven chapters in which viewers are able to immerse themselves.
The link between the metaphor of the theatre and that of the book is central, as encyclopaedias were originally called "Theatrum naturae", "Theatrum animalium" or "Theatrum botanicum".
The unique properties of VR technology and the historical context of the project create a dynamic new system.
Directed by | screenplay by Marlene Bart
Produced as a cooperation of Marlene Bart, Ikonospace founder Joris Demanrd and 3D Artist Manuel Farre
Music by Daniel Benyamin
Circulatory (2018-2024)
Experimental Film, 7:19 minutes
Small fragments from English-language educational films of the 1970s are assembled in a collage-like manner; additions are made, overlays emerge. Circulatory explores the anthropocentric perspective on the origins of the world. One of the key impulses behind Bart’s work is the Encyclopædia Britannica, which, as an encyclopaedia, lays claim to the task—and authority—of collecting and conveying human knowledge through reliably scientific information. Bart examines this claim, questioning and critically evaluating it.
Theatrum Radix (2024)
Dome Projection, 17 minutes
In August 2023, Theatrum Radix was presented as an extraordinary audiovisual experience at the Zeiss Großraumplanetarium in Berlin.
This project captivated audiences by seamlessly combining an impressive dome projection based on a 17-minute Virtual Reality animation with live music, creating a truly magical atmosphere.
The realization of this project was achieved through close collaboration with the Zeiss Großraumplanetarium team (Dr. Jürgen Rienow & Matthieu Jimenez).
The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, along with Mediasphere For Nature represented by Nadja Tata, played integral roles in its execution.
Key to the success of the project was the technical adaptation of the VR animation for the dome projection, made possible by the expertise of Ikonospace BV, represented by Joris Demnard and Manuel Farré, within the framework of the collaboration between Marlene Bart and Ikonospace.
A particular highlight of the evening was the captivating live music performed by Daniel Benyamin, complementing the visual experience in a truly mesmerizing manner.
Theatrum Radix provided visitors with a unique and unforgettable experience under the impressive dome projection of the Zeiss Großraumplanetarium.
Photos by Daniel Scharf
Between Skins and Bones (2022)
Virtual Exhibition
"Between Skins and Bones": Skin, bones, muscles, blood, and organs work together to hold the body together. They form the structural foundation of a natural system that allows us to exist, function, and ultimately test the limits of these capabilities. These are unique materials we seldom consider as such—at least not when it comes to the human body.
Marlene Bart explores the methodological intersections between art and science. In her exhibition "Zwischen Haut und Knochen" (Between Skins and Bones), she presents a series of works in which she engages playfully with representations of organic components. By transgressing the boundaries between the "human" and "animal" body, she creates complex visual structures that suggest the need for a reconfiguration of the relationship between the human body and nature in the Anthropocene.
δέρμα (skin) (2018)
Video installation, projections in a glass aquarium with water, 20 minutes
This installation draws upon a video recording in which a lifeless pine marten is prepared for moulding, its fur gently shaved away. The creature, a victim of a car collision, is a roadkill. Bart’s fascination with taxidermy and its delicate processes speaks to the tender, fragile dance between life and death. The projection unfurls within the water and the glass of the aquarium, blurring the boundaries between the natural world and the stillness of preservation.
SYSTEMS (2016)
Short film, 6 minutes
"SYSTEMS" is an experimental short film that explores organisational systems in historical and contemporary collections. These include databases for microorganisms as well as natural and medical historical collections. The film examines the human urge to gather and organise knowledge.
ORA ET LABORA (2016)
Short film, 16mm, 3 minutes
"Ora et labora" is an experimental 16mm film that combines material of animated crystal elements, which almost resemble enlightened architectures, with found footage from factories and other industrial labour processes, as well as a documentary about Christian religious practices. The film explores the tension between spirituality and labour, contrasting the meditative, almost transcendental qualities of crystals and religious rituals with the mechanical, often dehumanising aspects of industrial production.