Australian artist Magdalena Bors turns mundane settings into beguiling fantasy worlds

Date
30 April 2013

Australian artist Magdalena Bors initially trained as an architect and her work retains an architectural interest in how we relate to our living spaces. But she’s taken this in fantastic and fantastical directions by creating and photographing weird and wonderful landscapes in domestic settings.

“Our connection with the natural world is the driving force behind my work,” she says. “I am fascinated by the simultaneous strength and fragility of this connection as we go about our lives, spending most of our time within the confines of the small compartments we call home.​”

So in Homelands we are confronted with surreal scenes in living rooms and garages, and left uncertain whether they exist only in the subjects’ minds, while in The Seventh Day the scenes feature everyday objects run amok such as sponges, drawing pins or cereal.

These beautiful, intriguing images throw up so many questions – from the process involved to the ideas Magdalena is playing out – pulling viewers in and not letting us go.

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Magdalena Bors: Autumn

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Magdalena Bors: Apostles

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Magdalena Bors: Bungle Bungles

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Magdalena Bors: Reef

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Magdalena Bors: Jungle

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Magdalena Bors: Woodland Scene

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Magdalena Bors: Castle on the Hill

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Magdalena Bors: Gorge

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Magdalena Bors: Mountain Vista

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Magdalena Bors: Peaks and Valley

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

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