German artist Jochem Hendricks (b. 1959) is known for his works that address complex moral and ethical issues. The objects he produces are often beautifully realised, yet beneath the surface lie elaborate backstories, which – at times – test the boundaries of legality.
German artist Jochem Hendricks (b. 1959) is known for his works that address complex moral and ethical issues. The objects he produces are often beautifully realised, yet beneath the surface lie elaborate backstories, which – at times – test the boundaries of legality.
This new exhibition spans Hendricks’ practice over the past decade and ranges from sculpture, film and photography to installations and painting. Works on show at the John Hansard Gallery include a number of ‘Intercontinental paintings’, realised through an international network of collaborators; synthesised diamonds, transformed from the concentrated essence of birds; a Mazda MX5 sports car which has become a “part-time sculpture” through the artist’s tax arrangements; a 25 mile-long human hair, glued from individual strands; photographs from a 1970s archive of police investigations, printed by the former wife of terrorist Carlos the Jackal; and a series of Eye Drawings produced through the eye movements of the artist.
At John Hansard Gallery Central visitors can view the visceral film installation Front Windows, 2008-9, in which 200 windows of an old building in the centre of Frankfurt are smashed from within, at changing rhythms and speeds. Hendricks’ work explores the value and meaning of labour, truth and storytelling, ethics and the role of the artist. By turns playful, serious, provocative and sensitive, the artist asks: how can art allow us to understand – and question – our place in the world?
This new exhibition is organised in collaboration with Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zürich and The New Art Gallery, Walsall, and is accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue, published by Distanz Verlag. Jochem Hendricks is on show across both John Hansard Gallery sites – our main Gallery on the University of Southampton’s Highfield Campus, and our temporary city centre space John Hansard Gallery Central (9 Civic Centre Road).