Hans Lemmen (Venlo, 1959) works with drawing, painting, sculpture, and commissions artistic projects for public spaces. The main theme of his works is timeless, universal, and with a very personal line. The Hunter-gatherer exhibition focuses on his drawings with a selection of a total of 12 works, 10 small-format drawings and 2 large-format drawings. Despite having been conceived independently, once brought together they form an alternative mythology, without gods, in which the artist places the “human animal” –which we all are- in its own biotope. In this way, Lemmen describes the behavior of a new and strange animal species, working almost like a biologist. In the artist's words, he sees "humans as animals that suffer, crawl, and seek safety."

 

Lemmen lives and works in the context of a traditional farm in the Belgian region of Hesbaye, which is directly reflected in his work: there are recognizable elements of the environment itself that become recurring representations, acquiring significant content in his drawings, such as are the farm and the pylons. Lemmen's drawings have a poetic component, humor and the ability to put things in perspective. Some of them express threat, loneliness and friendship.

 

Hans Lemmen contemplates the human being as “a walking paradox”. This vision is based on the fact that humans are governed by reason as well as emotion / instinct. He remains fascinated by the fact that a significant part of humanity still obeys a mythical world, despite its rational capacities. Archeology is a field that interests Lemmen, due to his struggle to enter the animal nature of the human and find its origins. Lemmen regularly collaborates with archaeologists on art projects and also exhibits his work in Archeology Museums.

The technique he uses for his works was developed together with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam: each of the sheets is pigmented with ocher dyes through a manganese oxide treatment. They all lead to very different results. Subsequently, both sides of the paper are alternately treated with a casein solution. Casein is a glue generated from milk. The ink with which you draw remains suspended, between the layers of the casein and more liquid can be generated again at a later stage of the drawing. As a result, the paper takes on a parchment-like, egg-gloss look that emphasizes the timelessness of the drawing.

 

The spectators (Lemmen sees himself as such too) have their own interpretation of what they see. They sound like biologists trying to explain the perception of the behavior of a strange animal. But they themselves are strange animals...