Installation - Seek to find - 2019
Seek to Find is a text – relief luminescent wall sculpture. The theme is inspired from the Biblical verse Matthew 7:7 from the King James translation. The paper figures “the beer people” are once again the protagonists with a positive and hopeful approach towards life, action as reaction. They are placed in and on each word, full of physical expression, the lighting in the center reveals the number two, this is the connecting number between these two words that have a direct reference to the verse Seek and Ye shall Find.
The story behind the creation of the paper figures „the beer people":
The inspiration came from the tissue paper ring, a drop catcher that is attached to the bottom of a fresh taped beer glass to absorb the foam drippings, a German tradition in the beer culture. While fumbling around with this tissue paper ring, the „beer people“ came to life. What started off playfully has now evolved into a complete artistic concept.
Each figure is an original, folded and torn into form created out of one single tissue paper ring. On each figure nothing is added, just the excessive paper is torn away, then the figures are attached to a tooth pick on the backside for stability. All of these small figures, female or male, are full of individuality expression and character with a variety of poses and movements, set up in diverse constellations for this concept.
Over 8500 figures have been produced for these works : multimedia installations, luminescent object boxes, post cards and video works. For every exhibition, a new generation is created.
The „Beer people“ represent a hopeful and idealistic society searching for new solutions and perspectives, promoting freedom of thought and action. Questioning individuality and societies value system, invoking new ideas and thoughts as a chance for a process of regeneration in a complicated, uniformed negative world. The unfolded tissue paper rings represent the masses that are thoughtlessly waiting, they just exist as material piled up in orderly rows.
This is a contemplative concept where these paper figures functions as a playful expedient supporting the narrative aspect.
Year of production 2019
Materials: Wood, Styrofoam, Paper, LED Lighting
Measurements: 180 x 160 x 25 cm