Alexander Beuge

“A Nest Box Formerly Known As Home”

My project is not about birds! I use birds as an alter ego. Each bird with it's specific characteristics underpins the overall statement of each piece. I build nest boxes using traditional construction plans, then alter them according to the respective message I want to convey. The way I see it, a birdhouse can be: a container in which desire is retained, a vessel incorporating life, a metaphor for home or a representation of a person. My work serves as a coping mechanism helping me to deal with personal issues such as “love”, “death” and gradual alienation from home.

“Artist's Statement”

I take my practice very seriously as it is the only thing that I really care about. I see myself as part of the tradition of East German proletarian artists therefore each day in the studio means hard work. The fear of death and the demon of time are my inner engine that drives me to do what I do. I am terribly afraid that one day I could just die and would not be able to leave behind a significant enough body of work. Painting is like therapy to me, as soon as brush touches paint I know I am doing exactly what I have been put here to do. Usually I swing back and forth between megalomania and depression. The most rewarding thing about my work is to see how complete strangers smile or laugh when looking at my pieces. My artwork does strike a chord in many people which makes me feel like I am doing something worthwhile with my time.

First I began exploring the relationship between fruit and porn, only to later on realize that I could express all the issues that I am dealing with using birds as alter egos. I became aware of that there is something more beyond the decorative quality of birds. This is when I started weaving a tight fabric made of metaphors and similes around the subject matter.

The finish quality is essential to my work. As I am a perfectionist I want the objects I build to look immaculate. Other key elements of my work are texture, colour and the use of typography. As loose and messy as my paintings may be, if I incorporate typography into the painting it needs to be as crisp as can be. I spend hours hand rendering type using the smallest Rotring pen there is, it gets ridiculous! My grandfather was a sign painter so I guess this obsession runs in the family.

I grew up in East Berlin being surrounded by Communist murals which must have influenced me subconsciously and might explain my affinity to stylize when I draw. As part of my Necrophobia I like to paint on solid stuff like wood and extra heavy Eska board because unlike canvas and paper they won't tear or crease. I would like my artwork to live forever. I strive for my paintings to have the look and feel of having had a previous life. In order to achieve this look I like to cut and carve into the wood and later silk screen several layers of paint onto it. As for my birdhouses I like them to look perfectly clean. I prime the wood and then spray it with spray cans to get a glossy and even surface. I alter traditional construction plans so that the nest boxes convey the respective message and evolve into something more sophisticated.

Artistically I have been trained traditionally and come from a background where illustration is perceived as either an A3 poster for a play or pictures for a children's book. I am trying to get rid of this baggage and am now more interested in ideas rather than perfect draughtsmanship. The work that I am doing at the moment sits somewhere between contemporary illustration and conceptual art.