Marianna Simnett, a Croatian British multi-disciplinary artist, discusses her new exhibition 'Circus' at the Secession in Vienna, which features a light, sound, and sculpture installation in a pitch-black basement. The show includes works like 'Catherine Wheel' (2026), a blue spinning reflective skirt accompanied by the sound of the artist being tickled for four hours, and 'Fountain' (2026), a neon of a woman urinating referencing Balkan folklore. Simnett explores themes of violence, desire, pain, and power, often using her own body as a site of transformation, as in her earlier work 'The Needle and the Larynx' (2016) where she had Botox injected into her throat.
The article matters because it provides insight into Simnett's provocative artistic practice, which blurs boundaries between care and violence, entertainment and darkness, and personal trauma and cultural history. Her work challenges viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about desire, perverse pleasures, and the inherent violence in looking, while also incorporating elements of joy, humor, and surprise. The exhibition at the Secession, a prestigious Vienna institution, underscores the continued relevance of performance and body-based art in contemporary discourse.