Marian Viray SD5

biophilia

the intuitive connection between humans and plants

About Marian Viray Marian Viray is an emerging Multidisciplinary Designer whose aesthetic reflects her profound interest in discovering the extraordinary in ordinary subjects. Viray’s art and design has been impacted by her upbringing in Western Sydney, where she was exposed to a variety of cultures and their artforms which raised a special awareness towards the different conceptions of reality. This is frequently re-adapted into her contemporary works.

Viray’s major interest is photography and digital alterations, specifically the concept where the two practices collide — the original and untouched photographic picture and the decontextualization created by digital manipulation. Through this notion, Viray explores new forms of vision by pushing the camera to its boundaries. Her multifaceted approach is well suited to untangling the tangle

of possibilities that defines photography as a medium and how it is utilised. This practice raises the issue of what we may uncover beyond the image’s traditional “boundaries.”

In Viray’s recent work, ‘Biophilia’, she utilises this practice of photography and digital manipulation, mixed with her fondness of seeing the ordinary in an extraordinary perspective. The term ‘biophilia’ originates from the Greek word, ‘philia’ meaning ‘love of’ and ‘bio’ meaning ‘life’ or ‘iiving things’. It is said that “humans have a deeply ingrained love of nature which is an intuitive and natural drive imprinted into our DNA”, which Viray has centred this project around. With plants and flowers grown in her backyard, she expresses how the human body and its movements are intertwined; while bringing out the beauty of both subjects in a colourful and vibrant approach.

mfviray@gmail.com @mfvry