Garden of Self Delight Painting

. Garden of Self Delight started as a illustration for a sex zine and then transformed into a painting: Marcelina: I like doing stuff which is pretty similar to my dreams, mix of memories from childhood with sexual fantasies and some weird fears. Sometimes my work is a bit chaotic and maybe no one understands it but whatever. I just like to record my chaotic floating thoughts and moods. I was always amazed by my own imagination when I was a child, it's not that great anymore but I try to keep that adolescent point of view in myself for as long as I can. TOURIST magazine: Does pornographic images become less intrusive and provocative when illustrated as opposed to an image? M&I: We think these are two different things and its about context. Pornography’s purpose is only to excite and satisfy sexual needs – which is superficial from the beginning – as it is abstract excitement. It deforms natural’s human sexuality and does not profane anything – it kind of knocks at empty doors. What we try to do is opposite as we try to interpret our real sexual imaginations/fantasy, and it is based on our feelings and subconsciousness rather than just physical activity. This project is relying on our ‘inner’ side, and pornography is only about outer perception. We would like to avoid being too serious, but rather look at it with some distance and play around with imaginary. TM: Are the illustrations drawn from fantasy or memory or a photograph? M&I: The works mainly are fantasies and memories, some of them surely visually inspired by photographs, paintings, other people’s works but in wide context – films we saw, music, video clips, books we read, conversations with people we had (and still having). TM: Do you hope to provoke a reaction with your zine? M&I: Making this zine, we wanted to make a comment on taboos and myths about sex. When I was making my illustration for zine I didn't read them as controversial I thought they are natural and in a way very innocent, but some people reaction kind of surprise me. People find it even offensive, but that makes us even more sure that people are scared and ashamed when it comes to sex (Marcelina). What really was fascinating for me is that it is not us who are ashamed, but them who perceive. Also having a tutorial with one of our teachers, who is very religious I was surprised how embarrassed she was when explaining her our idea – about sex, which is so natural. It is nothing new to say, but we need to admit that it is huge paradox to compare what really happens in church (as an institution) and how those people react for just imaginary. (izabela)