Bio
Leonore Liebich (born 1989 in Rostock, Germany) mainly works with moving images, painting, drawing and collage. She is interested in the boundaries between social normality and abnormality and her work often explores subconsciousness, sexuality and notions of gender.
Leonore studied Fine Arts with an emphasis on painting and drawing in Linz, Austria and in Rovaniemi, Finland. Currently, at Aalto University in Finland, she is pursuing a Master’s Degree in the field of Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art. Leonore has a background in theatre, which sometimes is visible in the way she incorporates theatricality and staged authenticity in her work, playfully examining the limbo between reality and imagination.
Artist Statement
The main source of my artistic practice is my infinite desire to understand the complex wholeness of human beings – including myself. My curiosity takes me to matters of anthropology, sociology, psychology and philosophy; matters that I explore through various artistic approaches. Themes that I often deal with in my work are, amongst others:
social norms,
sexuality,
notions of gender; gendered bodies,
subconsciousness.
In my most recent project I research laziness: I aim to understand its value and the very nature of inactivity, with a specific emphasis on laziness as a tool of resistance. My interest in this subject results from observing my environment, the 21st century Western society which is characterized by a shrill imperative of productivity and self-optimization. Likewise, my own experience with constant pressure to actively refine every single aspect of my life, as well as the shame when failing to do so, have motivated me to research this topic. I situate my research in the context of social media and its microcosmos of motivational coaches and speakers. I collect screenshots and fragments of videos and build collages out of them.
Beyond that, I act as a self-taught motivational coach, a character between ficitionalised and authentic reality who presents collected tips on holistic ways to improve one’s productivity and to get rid of laziness.
Mediums I primarily work with include moving images, collage, painting, drawing, and recently also artistic research. In my working process, I not only allow but invite vagueness, volatility and irrationality. I draw inspiration from both the banality of the daily life and the profound
obscure.
Contact: leonoreliebich@gmail.com
