Maria Waag

Born in Oslo, Norway.

Lives and works across Oslo and Milan.

 

My story:

I am inspired by the poetic beauty of our natural world.

My process is an honouring, a fascination, a symbiotic love relationship - I have always been driven by a deep love for nature. My work is also a processing, a sadness, an urgency - as we are destroying the ecosystems and biodiversity of our planet.

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Ever since I can remember I have been trying to save or help any living creature of our magical nature. Growing up with a contemporary artist mum, and being dyslectic, painting was my main expression from a very early age. And my illustrated world of fantasy and fascination was an important escape and safe-space, from childhood trauma. Realising as I grew older how we were destroying our planet, the urgency to act bigger became a priority and I chose to study Biology. To explore, to learn - to befriend, to save. As a Biologist, I have had the privilege to study nature around the world from the arctic, to the rainforests of Costa Rica, India or Australia, or the mesmerising underwater world from the Red Sea, the Caribbean, the Pacific, the Northern Sea to the Great Barrier reef as a Scuba Diver (rescue diver). And in my past life – before I got sick – I was working for NGOs to save our beautiful planet.

 

Almost losing my life changed the way I live it. Not only did I have to give up on my former career and way of working for nature, but I had to change the way I was taking care of me. Healing. And as a Yoga and Mindfulness practitioner and teacher too, I love exploring the details and moments with the curiosity and excitement it deserves.​ Each moment we are lucky to be alive. These practices change how I see the world as well and ultimately also my work.

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I started painting again as a healing process, as I was processing the grief of having to give up a life dedicated to nature in the way I had imagined, while still being deeply touched by the realization of how fragile life is - as nature - and that I needed to live it fully. It was a process of returning. Returning home to myself. To nature. To a different speed. Slow urgency.

There is an urgency to my work also because my past brain inflammation and current brain tumor (benign) are challenging my vision. Not losing my vision was the biggest gift, but I live with the knowledge that I might. And the challenges I live with limit my capacity to not only write but also work on screens and with details (painting) - for too long. So my art creation process is also painful for me (in many ways), which limits my capacity to produce a high quantity, and demands time for contemplation and rest. So all my love goes into the quality, and every piece for me is precious. My urgency of producing is coming from a personal need to connect to nature. An urgency often lacking in our society. An urgency our planet also needs.

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Living in a city I miss nature, and I bring it home, within, through my work.

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My work is not only inspired by what I observe/have observed in nature (memories, feelings) but also the old tradition of Biology illustrations fascinates me. And our human tendency to want to understand and systemize. Yet also honor. I too wish to understand somehow, but instead to be able to see better, befriend, and hopefully also to help somehow. There are still so many mysteries of our natural world - and that is wonderful! Let nature inspire us more every day to try to understand ourselves better or as Einstein put it: "look deep into nature and you will understand everything better."

 

I hope my work can inspire a love for nature. A fascination. To bring nature home. And internalise it - to inspire actions that can help our common home.