Mara Röllin

Standby,

2023

Nylon, lacquer

24 x 45 x 10 cm

Rohlinge,

2023 & 2025

PLA

variable sizes

Mara Röllin creates a peculiar “urban habitat” using objects hung from the gallery ceiling, crawling along the walls, and camouflaged within the white of the walls. The work Standby reflects the strategy of collective cuddling as a strategy to stay warm used by animals, in this case, the firebug. Under the title Rohlinge, Mara Röllin introduces a new facet of her practice by engaging with the exhibition space through a sketch-like approach.

By playfully placing small sculptures, she transforms existing walls, ceilings, and floors into a habitat, an “urban living space.” Another interpretative layer of the work lies in its resemblance to columns or furniture fragments—elements associated with natural, organic, or flexible structures—opening a dialogue between inanimate objects and organic life. One could argue that Röllin’s ambivalent artistic vision lies precisely here: an exploration of the significance found in the tension between vulnerability and stability.

Mara Röllin was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. From 2020-2023 she finished her bachelor in Fine Arts at Zurich University of Art. Lives and works in Zurich