As a self-taught artist, he experimented with different skilled methods to inform the graphic nature of his practice, which naturally combined with his woodworking experience.
Mark Ollinger was born in 1988 and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. Woodworking and carpentry were a daily part of his early life the skills for which he accrued over time. When he began to develop his own art practice, he created a style that combined his learned trades with an interest in language and street art, specifically graffiti, reframing these skills in a unique sculptural practice. Early on he discovered a passion for art making that became a part of daily life and over time he accumulated skills in freelance graphic design, illustration, silk screening and fabrication, building his practice from the ground up. As a self-taught artist, he experimented with different skilled methods to inform the graphic nature of his practice, which naturally combined with his woodworking experience. In the early 2000’s Mark founded Duality Clothing which he owned and operated for six years while continuing his daily painting practice. Upon moving to Vancouver, Mark began to turn his attention towards his original interest in creating paintings and sculptural works. In 2015 he embarked on an ongoing body of unsanctioned public sculptural installations. These works were installed in Vancouver Toronto and Montreal, as well as internationally in Melbourne, Australia and Los Angeles.
STATEMENT
Ollinger’s work examines the linear progression of time, mapping the trajectory of a conscious experience as it weaves through space and time. Ollinger creates sculptural works and paintings out of wood, fibres and other materials to highlight a singular line folding over and under itself, describing both symmetry and hidden language. The continuous line acts as a symbol for multiple systems and meanings such as calendars, historical timelines, charts, compasses, transit and roads, or depictions of natural systems.
Much like the idea of a line being a symbolic description of time, written language also
symbolizes abstract concepts that are experienced throughout one's life. The words built into the line and hidden within the sculpture describe how these abstract ideas build and form the framework that shape an individual path. Graffiti initially informed Ollinger’s interest in how a singular word can be a stand alone work in itself and how contextually the meaning can change based on the viewer. Graffiti recognizes and highlights words having potential as autonomous objects, ones which have contingent understandings and unique perspectives.
Each multi-dimensional artwork develops over a time-intensive process of designing, problem-solving and constructing by machine and by hand. In this way the cyclical and continuous unfolding of time is both conceptually and materially built into the work striving for material balance and visual optics. A singular line folding both over and under itself references a balance of experiences, if looked at closely the lines interweave chaotically yet from a distance they create an equilibrium and symmetry. This weaving is amplified with the use of mirrors shifting colours of both raw and painted woodgrain.
In both practice and concept Ollinger’s work exists and the intersection of a mathematical plane, a woven language, a daily routine and modern aesthetic. Mark Ollinger’s work forces the viewer to get on his wavelength. To see through a lens that shows time collapsing into a single path, representing that path as an illusive yet valuable and materialized experience.
Mark Ollinger’s studio is based in Vancouver BC where he currently lives and works.
PROCESS
A simple way to describe Mark's process would be Nordic/Celtic knots meeting a contemporary graffiti style.
Each individual piece is based on words that are then turned into an unbroken, interwoven line. Each word is carefully chosen and influences the shape in mind. The design is initially hand drawn, then recreated in a design program. Mark then digitally distorts the image to create an optical illusion within the design, which afterwords is cut out using a CNC laser machine. The piece is then worked on using hand chisels, painted and finished.
Work can take weeks, even months, to finish.