A few days ago, Hendrik Beikirch opened his solo show at Galerie Droste in Wuppertal titled, ‘Treasures’. Hendrik is famously known for his massive monochromatic murals of highly detailed faces. His subjects are often the elderly locals of the blue collar class; the grit and wrinkles on their faces evoke feelings of dreariness and an open-ended curiosity.

In ‘Treasures’, Hendrik scaled down his mural work to fit into the confines of the gallery’s white space. Most of Hendrik’s artworks for this series are inspired by his travels to Siberia and the people he encountered during those journeys. He took photos of these people and had conversations with them. He developed a type of bond that enabled the people to trust him and share their best kept treasures.

For me, what makes this show interesting is Hendrik’s laborious process to reveal details for every face he painted; a tedious process to provoke a powerful affinity that goes beyond their identity and story. Perhaps, Hendrik was trying to convey ambiguity leaving the interpretation open for contemplation. I interviewed Hendrik about this show and the gallery was kind enough to send us photos from his show for us to enjoy even when we’re not there.

Interview by Mark Changco.
Art by Hendrik Beikirch.
Photos by Andreas Lauermann.

Tell me about your show “Treasures”.

The title relates to an idea of a collection, almost like memories, a theme I have worked with before. For the show, I asked every person I portrayed to borrow something, a treasure of sorts from them. Something more precious than simply cash value, an object with a memory, emotions and or a story.

How did you pick the subjects for this show?

Geographically, my current work series is only people from Siberia, to be exact from the Lake Baikal region, this is also for people from Russia, a magical and mystical region. While photographing or sketching the portraits and talking, I got to know them. To have a stranger painting your portrait, and to let him gain insight in your life by borrowing a treasure creating a story is my favorite part.

Is there something in this show that you’ve made something different compared from your previous shows?

In terms of techniques, more painted scenarios rather than just the portrait on a white background. I tried to have some sort of a rhythm in this show as all the faces interact with one another in terms of their line of sight. Content wise the work is, like you see in the title, an installation of their individual treasures. It remains open which treasure belongs to whom, to still keep some of the mystery. And, by gaining insight into the portraits, these treasures hopefully raise questions about what we praise and worship ourselves.