The interest in images initially led me to the will of trying to figure out what art is or better what art can be for me. So I wanted to pursue this area, discover and give it more space. However, I soon faced a question that still persists for me today: In an era of abundant information and a huge surplus of images, how can I create an image/art that slows down this constant hunt and demands attention and focus? How far can I expand an image, a motif, a surface, and what might happen in this process, so that the resulting image has an artistic and social relevance?
In my work, I explore various themes of present times and the place that I, as well as human beings in general, occupy in it. In the center of this occupation are mostly persons or bodies. Persons and bodies that are sometimes more difficult and sometimes easier to identify, that are in a certain threshold state, in so-called “liminal phases“. Apart from quickly identifying with these liminal phases ourselves, we can also find them reflected in society or fragments of it.
The works play with the question of a narrative, so elements such as symbolism, movement and action, are touched upon but never formulated. The focus lies in this intermediate moment, which is captured and therefore also in the question what exactly happens in this moment, in which there is supposed standstill. It is an ambivalence between violence and sexuality, depiction and staging, anonymity and exposure.
In addition to exploring artistic content, I also find it necessary to engage with my own medium. In my case, these are painting and drawing, with drawing being a collective term that further differentiates between aquarell drawings/paintings and fineliner, pencil or charcoal drawings. These three work groups are equal and build on each other, as the smaller drawings do not directly function as sketches for larger work. Rather, for me it means a deeper engagement with the respective medium.
All media bring different starting situations and possibilities, which, depending on the material/formal decisions, overarching themes/sources of inspiration and questions, and thus the resulting image also changes according to the medium. This creates a broad complex of works that build on each other and complement each other. For Image bases I work out of an archive, consisting of photographs, mostly documentary photographs, images extracted from the internet, as well as depictions from books and newspapers, and even self-captured photographs. However, it should also be noted that not every work is based on photography.
Aside from pre-existing images, however, the most important archive for me still is the personal gaze – the gaze/perception on existing images, on societal, political, as well as pop-cultural phenomena and relationships, the view on the immediate environment and one’s own surroundings. That is essential to reflect on and deconstruct. For me, the handling of image bases is also always, the use of my own intuition – an expansion, alienation, and extension, so that not only a depiction but an independent work is created and presented. Thus, a good work can arise from almost nothing.
How do I now create a “good” image, what do I portray and what not, what gestures do I exercise, where does the medium lead me in this process? How do I formulate my own approach to art and how can I transform it again and again and distinguish it from other’s? In which manner do I want to speak and be spoken about my art? How can I formulate certain artistic themes and themes of one’s self in a visual manner? How can I challenge myself and the Medium I’m using?
