Artist Statement
I work with narrative. Be that in the form of exposing my own private conversations and feelings or by exploring outer reality through the lens of media and monuments, or most recently, through political caricature.
Since my studies in Berlin, I have been using newspaper in some form or other as a basis for my work. What started as a banal surface, developed into a dialogue with various aspects of this surface and its content. Sometimes word traces or captions form a starting point; sometimes I focus on images or graphic elements of the given page, sometimes the whole newspaper page turns into a "stage" upon which an alternative narrative is performed.
All narratives have multiple layers and are embedded in a complex system of sender, transmission and reception. Every part of this system engages in processes of selection, arrangement and rearrangement or reinterpretation. In this way there exists a constant and often invisible or subconscious interaction which shapes any given narrative. My working process reflects this.
Situations of conflict, ranging from war, economic exploitation and general abuse of power of the strong against the weak, are a recurring theme in my work. Formal elements of my work draw on influences from DADA, German Expressionism, Pop and Agitpop. I choose to work with a hands-on style of production as opposed to digital or photographic manipulation. The authenticity and emotional impact of drawing, as well as its technical simplicity, lends itself to spontaneous gut responses.