Hedy Hempe

Biography Hedy Hempe Visual art is the most natural way for me to express myself. I am interested in the thinking, doing and playful human. I love to work in nature with natural materials, it inspires my to find new structures and constructions for 3D-artwork and objects. Writing is a way to organize my thoughts and to articulate my philosophy. Music has broadened my perception of space, time and structures. I have discovered that everything is based on personal observation. The impressionist idea is the only way for me to understand life and death; everything is a transition from one moment to another. The ‘time-space’ where intellectual perception and emotional experience come together. Only art can make that tangible. Through visual art, poems and music/dance I try to express the existence of human thinking and being and the beauty of nature and life.3D-panels | Eggshell paitnings | 1994 - presentFor me, an egg is a universal shape and symbol for the origin of life and evolution. My eggshell paintings are spatial collages of goose eggshells, arranged in a mathematical structure. White on white. First I started with chicken eggs and very colorful designs, but in 2012 I found out that shells of goose eggs are stronger, bigger and they have a beautiful natural white. That inspires me to make white eggshell panels (1m x 1m) with geometric designs. Light and eggshells create shadow effects, which makes the image graphic and dynamic. If the degree and direction of the incidence of light changes, the appearance also changes. The kinetic effect is an interplay between 3-dimensionality, geometry and light. What amazes the viewer is the beauty of fragility and virginity, the magic light and shadow of and at the same time the simplicity of the materials.Land art | Sculpting Nature | 2003 - presentIn 2003 I started to work in and with nature. I had this strong feeling to go back to my roots, literally. It started with cocooning; wrapping myself in grass and stems of plants. That resulted in making cocoons of willow. Many years I spend photographing natural structures and shapes during walking tours. I tried different ways of building objects with branches, stones, bark. While experimenting with stacking branches I developed the Tree Knot. With this technique I was able to make large arcades as well. Working with natural materials and techniques requires besides skills and power, curiosity, patience and perseverance. It is hard work, but it gives me a feeling of freedom. Improvisation appeals to an hidden creativity, everything is possible. In preparation of an art event in 2017, I invented the reed fan and the reed fan dance. For me, dancing is, at the moment, one of the most beautiful and interesting ways for me to express myself.Photography | 2003 - presentPhotography is an important media for me as an artist. First of all, with photography I can capture a moment, a situation that will dissapear. I use that for the objects of Sculpting Nature, they are made of natural materials. As photography becomes very practical I use it as modern variant of sketching and drawing. But photography is also an essential part of the creative process and a way to visualize and understand passing time. The last few years I am interested in standstill and movement. A good still life shows the true nature of an object or the silence of a moment. But most of the time we find all kinds of suggestions of movement in a picture, awaiting of the future. And, like the impressionists, it is interesting to capture the transition from one moment to another. And that is how the photo serie Cargo developed during the last years.