The Mystic and the Mortals
Kate Hickey
Heidemarie Kull’s work is full of spirituality and the search for identity. Nowhere is this more evident than in her powerful series "Humans, God and Demons." Her works search and invite to search for our identity and the identity of others around us. This awareness of her surrounding and spirituality should also be noted as she take part in the "Dolls for Peace" project which aims to raise money for war damaged women in Bosnia.
The project Dolls for Peace was launched in November 2005 when they were put on show at the cooperative bank building in Pforzheim. Kull produced four of these 126 dolls which were all to sold for the cause. Over 73 artists took part in the project.
In her series, "Humans, Gods, and Demons" images such as the Sphinx, a Prophet, a Shaman, a Mystic, a woman whose head is surrounded by a bright circle and a self portrait are just some of the images included in the "Humans, Gods and Demons" series. As these figures piercing eyes stare out from the canvas the viewer to stare back beginning a two way exploration or a relationship between to two.
She has claimed that her trips to Kenya, Nepal, China and especially Potala have helped her work to progress. The colours used, burning oranges, yellows and reds juxtaposed against the natural blues and greens shows what a huge influence the east has had on her works. What is also striking is the dark use of colours around the characters eyes. While practically no other black or white is used these dead and piercing eyes stare at the voyeur.
Kull, a native of Switzerland has been working in the arts for over fifteen years. Her works have spanned the mediums of video, sculpture, paint, poetry and prose. She is both a poet and a philosopher. While these talents often rear their heads together Kull uses her gifts in a unique form. Her pieces use all these talents to convey simple message through the figures.
In her past works the influence of Picasso has been evident. The almost cubist mis-mash of human features in the faces of The Scientists are just one case in point. However, these more recent faces, which confront their viewers, have a sense of being much more still and calm. Like one of her poems which begins "Silence, Silence, Silence," a tranquillity befalls these faces and figures of the other world which she attempts to bring into our domain.
In the past she has also claimed Dalí as a major influence on her work. While this is not altogether evident at first her use of techniques, as in the Prophet, calls to mind the visual trickery of the great Dalí. A two headed Prophet who shares one of his three eyes is a good example. The two faces work perfectly together complementing each others symmetry but on second inspection they a sharing their central eye.
There’s an iconographic look to this painting, reinforced by the red, gold of the background. Yet there is something Egyptian in the cold, flat stare of the face, poised on their statuesque necks. These figure may be an attempt to mirror the individual in front of them but these otherworldly higher beings are definitely set above us lowly mortals. They hold their neck high and are entirely detached from what they stare at.
While the paintings are representational there appears to be little of representational art’s traditional concern for the handling of paint. It’s almost exclusively made with primary colours and barely modulated. Where modeling might have been attempted or may have been started on the face the paint areas remain flat and with little or no feeling for the underlying anatomy. But this, perhaps, adds to the enigmatic quality of the characters.
The philosophy of her painting is hard to pinpoint however her poetry which goes with the painting seems to join the otherworldly and worldly sections within her work. For example she talks of the "king of the moon star-spangled your blue dress of shadows amidst the fiery firmament trembling shuddering."
While these gods and prophets are aloof it seems that the human representations are even further out of reach. In her painting entitled Self we see a wholly more than human figure. We must presume this is a self-portrait of Kull. However, like the others her neck seems dangerously long and she seems to be quite glowing inside a sunny yellow hallo. In this painting perhaps she is comparing herself to the other world figures. Unlike the paranormal figure she does not however stare resolute out of the painted but sullenly looks down toward the corner of the painting.
Other human’s represented are the Woman in the Circle the figure who Dance’s in fire. While the woman with the circle seems closer to these unearthly beings the dancer is almost primitive with no structure whatsoever. The lines and colours are chaotic with a backdrop of fiery swirls of red. Is this the primitive man who we are invited to or who we have left behind.
