One of the first things artists learn when drawing is to practice their line-making skills. This basic skill will allow them to do a wide range of things, including making shapes, shading, and adjusting the perspectives (depth of field) of the subjects they are depicting. Line artists like Marika Tin focus on these lines and amplify their function, allowing them to be the focal points of their artworks. Tin does this by enhancing the outlines of her subjects through the introduction of 3D lines and gold embellishments.
Conceptually, Tin uses her lines to show the connection between plant life and humankind. This is seen in how her oeuvre mainly consists of portrayals of women’s bodies or the lines that make up trees and flowers alike. These pieces highlight how the lines of a tree bark resemble the wrinkles on human skin. Or that the rings of a tree trunk resemble those found in human fingerprints. Her pieces share messages of conservation and preservation based on shared forms, an age-old connection between plant life and humanity that is interconnected, sacred, and important for each other’s longevity. This is why line art paintings by Marika Tin are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Life on Land.
To create her pieces, Tin begins by sketching her desired design on a primed piece of canvas. Once she is satisfied with the sketch, she will begin charting its outlines with acrylic paint that she’s put in a plastic cone, typically used by bakers when putting decorative icing on their cakes. This technique allows her to create her embossed outlines, which she will later varnish over or line with gold leaves.
The poetry and impact of Marika Tin’s pieces do not easily go unnoticed. The plant life she is advocating for is undergoing mass extinction today. The Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) of the United Kingdom has estimated that this phenomenon is so severe that almost 40 percent of plant and fungi species are now threatened with extinction. The University of Stockholm cites widespread deforestation and conversion of forests into agriculture as the leading causes of these two man-made actions, which led to a devastating reduction of local biodiversity.
Despite these harrowing facts, conservation efforts for plant life are yet to catch up with their extinction rate. A large part of the reason why is because of the public’s lack of awareness, which in turn, creates a lack of interest from governments and global stakeholders in terms of investing in plant conservation. This is where Marika Tin’s pieces come into play. By showcasing the natural connection between plant life and humanity, she is raising people’s awareness of the complexity of plant life, a move that will drive them to learn more about plants and comprehend the urgent need for plant conservation worldwide.
Marika Tin’s line art masterfully captures the intricate connection between plant life and humanity, urging viewers to recognize and preserve this vital relationship. Her unique technique of using 3D lines and gold embellishments not only enhances the visual appeal of her paintings but also underscores the shared forms between human and plant life, highlighting their interconnectedness, as humanity cannot exist without plant life.
Find out more about paintings by Marika Tin and their other pieces and initiatives by checking their Instagram on @marika.tin.art.