LDH

I consider myself mainly to be a painter. My poetry and performances are corollaries of my paintings.

Through painting I seek to create alternative realities in which the viewer, or at least I, can temporarily escape. By referring to romanticism, decadentism and symbolism, I try to create works in which the actual event still has to take place or just has ended: moments evocative of atmosphere and suspense that are not part of a narrative thread. The drama unfolds elsewhere while the build-up of tension is frozen to become the memory of an event that will never take place. 

My paintings sometimes radiate a cold and latent violence. At times, disconcerting beauty emerges. The inherent visual seductiveness, along with the conciseness of the exhibitions, further complicates the reception of their manifold layers of meaning. By emphasising aesthetics, I create work through labour-intensive processes which can be seen explicitly as a personal exorcism ritual. They are inspired by a nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century tradition of works, in which an ideal of ‘Fulfilled Absence’ was seen as the pinnacle.

 

My work comes forth from my fascination in erotics and the tension that plays a general role in it. In order to paint eerie erotic situations I search for real experiences. Sometimes these real life situations are created through acting a role in a bar or by working with nude models for my paintings. Other times they are found by visiting red light districts or one night stands. These situations are followed by a wide spectrum of emotions. From happiness and euphoria to depression and bittersweet melancholy. I attempt to communicate (about) these feelings in my paintings, and to create them to the audience.

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LDH  

February 2021