Teun Hocks

“Performing as the everyman in his photographs, Hocks invents scenes that are confrontations with failure, puzzlement and wonder. The staged scenes show the man being thwarted, trapped, and frustrated with seemingly no solution. The mundane becomes heroic, the trivial task becomes a Sisyphean ordeal. Through it all, Hocks, acting as a stand-in for the viewer, endures with a Buster Keaton-inspired performance.” (PPOW Gallery, 2009)

Teun Hocks (b. 1947) is a Dutch artist who produces self portraits combining photography and painting. He paints his own backdrops then photographs himself within the scene. He prints the images in black and white applying a sepia tone. He then paints over them using transparent oil paint. He used this process for a body of work called Analogue Works.

The depictions are autobiographical with references to his previous jobs, successes and failures. Having been a performer in his earlier years he uses this to create humorous but thought provoking images.

In one image he is standing on the beach smoking a pipe looking at a cruise ship with smoke emanating from its funnel. Placed by his side is a suitcase. It appears that he has ‘missed the boat’.

In another he creates a space theme of himself blindfolded walking on the moon wearing a party hat and streamers hanging off of him. This is a surreal image which shows that his fellow partygoers have left him to keep venturing forward without knowing where he is. We know he is lost but he continues as if the party is continuing in someone’s home.

He uses shapes and mirroring of form, such as the pipe/funnel smoke, in another image which appears to be a reference to sleeping rough in a cardboard city. In the background he has painted a tower block city scape. In the foreground he has constructed a mirror image of those structures using cardboard boxes. He is found sleeping, in his suit, lengthways inside the cardboard boxes.

The colouring of the final images is fairly grey and subdued giving the feel of 19th century painting. The effect is ‘other wordly’, a fantasy or dream. The viewer is given a lot to consider. First and foremost is it a painting or a photograph. Who is the man in the photograph? Why is he doing what he is doing?

His ideas and the process to achieve the final product combines drawing, photography, painting and scenery construction. Although staged, the end to end process is a solo endeavour unlike a Gregory Crewdson production. This is apparent in the final outcomes of both of these artists. Crewdson’s are large scale cinematic creations whereas Hock’s are very personal, cartoon like simpler stories. However, both show off their individual qualities and skills even if the results are vastly different.

Although I do not have any painting skills or access to large cinematic lighting rigs I feel that this type of work is within my reach. Hock’s work especially shows off his personality as a witty fellow with a reflective serious side. I like that and feel I can use that to express my personality with photography.

Teun Hocks use of photography and painting reminded me of the process used for the painting The First General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland signing the Act of Separation and Deed of Demission on 23rd May 1843 by David Octavius Hill (1802-1870). Although the subject matter was different it is internationally important as being the first work of art painted with the help of photographic images. (University of Glasgow, 2018). Robert Adamson (1821-1848) was Hill’s photographic partner and each of the key characters was photographed by Adamson individually to allow Hill to paint the entire scene of characters accurately.