Marta Bausells

Spain/UK
Writing
Artist in Residence, 2022
Artist in Residence, 2020
www.martabausells.com

A portrait of a person standing in front of a metal structure.

Artist Statement

My work often involves the myth of reinvention, the ways we crave and deprive ourselves of connection, relationships and the power dynamics within, language and miscommunication, our fraught relationship with nature, ecology, and radical futures. Nothing feeds my practice like a combination of quiet time and movement, and I can’t wait for the fuel I will get from studio time and walks in nature alike. Besides my writing, I’m also working on photography and film projects, and I am excited at the prospect of potentially exploring practice in these areas too while in residency.

While at Headlands

I will be revising my debut novel, a story about queer love, grief, freedom, and friendship in late capitalism. Set in Catalonia, London, and California, it centers on three friends from Southern Europe who insert themselves into the English-speaking world lured by its promises of escape and self-realization. I also plan to continue work on “Not My Story to Tell,” a creative non-fiction book about historical memory, astronomy, intergenerational trauma, language, exile, and art as healing—around the Spanish Civil War and beyond.

Selected Works

“Letter of Recommendation: Tió de Nadal,” New York Times, December 20, 2018. (PDF)

“Letter of Recommendation: Saturn,” New York Times, November 30, 2017. (PDF)

“On Being a Trend,” The Millions, April 30, 2018.

“Time and Space, Bending,” Believe Only the Caravan’s Trace Exhibition Catalogue, 2020.