Simone Henken
Simone's work shows a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes and textures. Simone uses her own images alongside photos she finds on the internet and constructs new worlds. Although she is very familiar with photoshop, the traditional work of cutting and pasting is very welcome to her."Working digitally is very clean and sometimes a bit rigid, while the craft is often a bit messy; a lick of spilled glue, paint that doesn't 'catch' to the surface or react with a stripe of felt-tip pen, a shape that 'accidentally' arises by making cutouts. This makes it often somewhat unpredictable. But that's what makes these working methods go so well together; the unexpected of the traditional and the guiding, controlled of the digital process. The two are not each other's enemy, but each other's friend."
In the work ROYAL JEWEL, a piece of wallpaper has been incorporated into a new work of art.
Explanation of the artist
I was introduced to "the unknown man". A portrait from the beginning of the last century.
Who is this man? I do not know anything.
No name, no history.
At most, the technique with which the photo was taken and his clothing style provide information about the time period in which he lived.
But I can't find any more information. There are no props that could be a reference to his social or professional life.
To make contact I give my 'unknown man' a name.
I call him John.
John….
Yes, that feels good.
I have no background from John. Or do I?
I have a literal background. Or actually a backside. That of his portrait.
I open the oval frame and photograph his image and the back his background
And merge the images
I replace the eyes with oval, white shapes because John has been dead for a while and has no vision.
The wonderful effect is that John sometimes seems to look to the left and sometimes to the right. It surprises me.
But do I feel more connected to John now?
I'm still sanding and scraping the outside, the original shape.
The oval of the portrait, the composition as determined by the photographer at the time, the choice of clothing.
It is still so decisive and dominant. I remain trapped in the time of the early 190
I want to get closer, get on his skin, feel him, little by little.
I zoom in, approach John very closely.
Scratches, dust, speckles are starting to show themselves sharply.
On the contrary, the photographic image seems to shift to the background, becoming cloudy, soft and picturesque.
As the present becomes sharp and the past fades away
A new visual world unfolds.
John reveals himself in a way that is not immediately visible when you look at the original portrait.
I print the prints and examine the details and scan the photos.
My glasses on the tip of my nose searching for details, my fingers sliding over the paper, over his ear, his mouth and his eye.
My pencil strokes the surface, sometimes softening, sometimes sharpening details.
The 'Forgetmenots blue' overflows his image.
Submerges him in a watery world.
Blue persists when all other colors have already faded.
Blue echoes the past.
Nobody knows his name
I call him John
John is dead!
Don't let him die.
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Title: John is dead, don't let him die