THE PLACE TO ENJOY
ART BY MARLIES PLANK AT IMLAUER HOTEL SCHLOSS PICHLARN
The impressive landscape around the IMLAUER Hotel Schloss Pichlarn is a source of inspiration and creativity and has now become the setting for an art collaboration with the Viennese artist Marlies Plank. Viennese artist Marlies Plank.
As part of her “Soap Bubble Studies”, she was our guest and discovered the beauty of the Styrian Enns Valley with a new perspective and through her magical soap bubbles. The resulting photographs show us the landscape and nature around the IMLAUER Hotel Schloss Pichlarn from a completely new perspective.
Marlies Plank’s work moves between photography, digital processing, painting, conceptual art and visual poetry – always with a wink, always with feeling. Her works have been exhibited internationally and are represented in private and public collections.
Capture the moment
In her work, Marlies Plank combines poetic imagery with a fine sense of aesthetics, lightness and depth. With her “Soap Bubble Studies”, she devotes herself to a fascinating and at the same time fleeting motif: soap bubbles.
In these photographs, Marlies Plank captures the shimmering magic of the moment – a play of light, color and transparency. The soap bubble becomes a symbol of transience, but also of beauty, fragility and childlike magic. Her works invite us to pause, to marvel, to dream.
With her visit to the IMLAUER Hotel Schloss Pichlarn, Marlies Plank adds another chapter to her “Soap Bubble Studies”. Inspired by nature, light and landscape, she created images that capture the magic of the moment and show Schloss Pichlarn in a new context.
We conducted an interview with Marlies Plank and talked to her about her art, the “Soap Bubble Studies” and her artistic visit to the IMLAUER Hotel Schloss Pichlarn.
How did you come up with the idea for your “Soap Bubble Studies”?
I watched a couple of children in a park as they made slightly larger bubbles with a ring and had great fun chasing them and breaking them again. Despite the children shouting, I found it very relaxing to watch the shapes that emerged and this gave me the idea of doing a kind of bubble study.
I was planning a trip to Morocco in 2010 and took a few liters of lye with me. My boyfriend at the time was then allowed to make giant bubbles in the desert. Soap bubbles have been a part of my life ever since.
What is it all about?
“Soap Bubble Studies” is a long-term site-specific project that has been in development for over a decade. It was realized in Morocco, Spain, Austria and Italy and combines classic landscape photography with a special element: iridescent soap bubbles.
These soap bubbles stand in exciting contrast to the natural environment and invite us to reflect on the fragility and transience of the moment and of nature. The project reminds us to appreciate the beauty of the unpredictable and to consciously perceive the magic of fleeting moments. Just as moments pass by when traveling, but then burn themselves into the memory forever during special experiences.
How do you take your photos?
The way the series is created has changed a lot in recent years. Since I became a mom 5 years ago, my son is now always involved. He’s probably the only 5-year-old who whines: “Oh, not bubbles again!”
For this reason alone, the series has become much more spontaneous and improvised.
This means that when I go on vacation and excursions, I usually have bubble solution and a camera with me and then I research what might be exciting on site.
And then we just give it a go. It usually works quite well, but with unpredictable bubbles and a 5-year-old, you never know how things will turn out.
I now have kilos of bubble equipment, including mini versions, so that my son can join in. I hope that in a few years’ time he’ll still want to go on outings with me and blow bubbles.
When I started the series in 2010, I made a pact with myself that the series would do without Photoshop. This means that all the pictures can only be touched up minimally in terms of color and possibly sharpness, but nothing else is added or retouched.
What do you like so much about it?
I like the fact that the bubbles always take me to very beautiful landscapes – like the area around the IMLAUER Hotel Schloss Pichlarn.
On a personal level, this photo series is something of an exercise in letting go. I often used to have very precise ideas about how the bubbles should look in a certain place. But as the bubbles are very fragile, the weather, especially the wind, can often throw a spanner in the works. It just doesn’t work out the way I intended.
In recent years, this has led me to simply let go, go with the flow, improvise and work with the conditions that exist at the moment. This has often led to much better results.
What particularly attracted you to the project at IMLAUER Hotel Schloss Pichlarn?
I found the idea of making soap bubbles in the idyllic landscape around Schloss Pichlarn very appealing, especially because it complements my existing portfolio very well. I’m also always curious and happy to gain experience outside my bubble.
What does it mean to you to create art in a place like this – far away from city life?
I am very aware that I am in the very fortunate position of being able to do what I love best, which is always taking me to the most beautiful places in the world, such as Pichlarn. I always really enjoy not being surrounded by constant noise. As soon as I’m back in Vienna, I realize that I’m no longer quite so relaxed.
Do you have a ritual or habit for starting an art project in a new place?
I don’t have a ritual in that sense, but especially with the bubbles, I always try to stick to the motto “go with the flow” before I start. The bubbles are always a kind of letting go exercise because the wind and weather often interfere and I often have to be very flexible.
What do you want viewers to feel or experience when looking at your pictures?
Peace and relaxation! I would like the pictures to take the viewer out of everyday life for a moment and let them calm down and remind them to live in the now and enjoy the moment.
Where in the IMLAUER Hotel Schloss Pichlarn did you feel particularly at home when you weren’t making bubbles?
That’s a difficult question, because from the moment I got out of the car, I was thrilled. What struck me most was the silence and the fresh air. My son even said: “It’s so quiet here that you can hear the bubbles bursting.
If I had to name a favorite place, it would probably be the balcony with a view of the Grimming.
What was your personal highlight that you will always remember?
The incredibly warm and helpful staff were a highlight for me. In general, I noticed that the guests were also very friendly and relaxed. Pichlarn works!
Name: Marlies Plank
Place of residence: Vienna
Artistic focus: Photography, digital image processing, painting, conceptual art, visual poetry
More about Marlies Plank: marliesplank.art
Virtual exhibition: Soapbubble Studies 2010 – 2025
