© Paulina Brunner, Photo Giovanni Ambrosio, 2022
© Paulina Brunner, Photo Giovanni Ambrosio, 2022

“Everything is moving constantly, and nothing stays the same.”

Name

Paulina Brunner

Profession

Artist, dancer, writer

Website

paulinabrunner.de

© Paulina Brunner, Photo Patrick Stäbler
© Paulina Brunner, Photo Patrick Stäbler

Where are you from?

I grew up in Mannheim, Germany.

Your style in 3 words?

Writing movement (into) space

Your weakness? Your strength?

My greatest longing is at the same time my greatest fear: everything is moving constantly, and nothing stays the same. And I want to feel everything radically.

What makes you different?

I work at the intersection of movement and writing. I conceive movement as an inscription into space and believe that a third dimension emerges at the intersection of these two forms of expression. And that is exactly where I want to go.

When did you decide to become an artist?

When I was four years old: „When I grow up, I’m going to be a painter or a cleaning lady.“

Do you choose your art form, or does the form choose you?

I love to keep moving and to follow artistic practices that differ greatly in their exertion. I need a big studio to dance, it integrates my entire body. Writing, on the other hand, usually happens at the kitchen table or on the train. But in the end, I believe that everyone ends up doing what they’re good at. So maybe a little bit of both.

What do you find most fascinating about the creative process?

What fascinates me the most is what my dad fondly calls „the sawtooth graph“: for a long time, I move on a plateau in my work process, building connections, circling around my subject, and often wondering if I’m making any progress at all. And then the process suddenly skyrockets, and a lot happens at once, I can look down on the plateau and see that I’ve been building diligently all along. Everything makes sense, my process accelerates and for a few days, I lose myself completely in the work.

© Paulina Brunner, Circle(loveislikeabubblegum), 2019, Paulina Brunner
© Paulina Brunner, Circle(loveislikeabubblegum), 2019, Paulina Brunner

 

What do you find most fascinating about the creative process?

What fascinates me the most is what my dad fondly calls „the sawtooth graph“: for a long time, I move on a plateau in my work process, building connections, circling around my subject, and often wondering if I’m making any progress at all. And then the process suddenly skyrockets, and a lot happens at once, I can look down on the plateau and see that I’ve been building diligently all along. Everything makes sense, my process accelerates and for a few days, I lose myself completely in the work.

A few words about your favourite creation?

I work in the in-between, which means with the space that stretches out between movement and text. I play with how far I can expand that space without it becoming too thin and getting perforated. This space becomes particularly palpable for me when I juxtapose my photographs, in which I fix pure movement without showing a person moving, with a performance in which the “here” and the “now” are fragile and have to be redefined in every moment.

What surprised you most about your first art shows?

Making an exhibition seemed like a completely different profession to me. The preparations, the opening, the conversations with the visitors… that’s something fundamentally different from working on the piece of art itself.

Someone else’s work that inspired or inspires you…

The films of Sara Cwynar! I’m a huge fan.

Who would you like to work with someday and why?

With my brother. He is a musician and in his last project, he worked on measuring brain waves, which he then transferred into sound. We ask similar questions and share a history because we grew up together. But we find different answers.

Paulina Brunner, Orbitalverhalten, 2019
Paulina Brunner, Orbitalverhalten, 2019

A new project coming up or an idea you want to work on?

In my work, I would like to turn to the texture of the space in which I inscribe myself through my movement. I think of texture not as a surface, but as a volume through which I move.

Finish the sentence „More important than my career is…“

My sense of life. It is important to be able to enjoy what I do, to remain present in the moment and permeable to the World.

2022: Where are we going?

In 2022 I was on the road a lot: I had several scholarships and an artist residency in Italy. In November I’m going to travel to Marseille and Rome for my artistic work. And then I’m looking forward to slowing down at the end of the year and bringing the movement of summer inwards.

Paulina Brunner, Orbitalverhalten, 2019
Paulina Brunner, Orbitalverhalten, 2019

Do you think about time as an artist?

Oh yes! I keep thinking of a quote from Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing: “What if our indeterminate life form were not our body, but the shape of our movements over time?”

When the going gets tough…

I try to become soft.

What would you do if you could change the World?

Establish matriarchy! As a form of society in which unconditional love is substituted for power, state, progress, and hierarchy.

What does freedom mean when it comes to art?

Freedom in art must never mean ruthlessness or be used as an excuse to hurt others. Freedom in art means moving outside common practices and social constructs, venturing out into the unknown without forgetting one’s own position in society.

Paulina Brunner, Orbitalverhalten, 2019
Paulina Brunner, Orbitalverhalten, 2019

If the universe is everything and it’s expanding, what is it expanding into?

Into the immeasurable.

Your city’s favorite spots?

Franzigmark! A nature reserve on the outskirts of Halle (Saale) where I’ve lived for the last six years.

Last but not least: what is your favorite Song?

Today it is „to the boys“ by Molly Burch.

One last statement please: „Wood or stone, gold or art?“

Pebbles and golden light.

Your #…?

#raumsehnsucht