Hadassah Emmerich
Cosmic Hyperbole, 2010, mixed media on paper, 120 x 120cm
Hadassah Emmerich was born 1974 in Heerlen, Netherlands. She lives and works in Berlin.
Hadassah Emmerich investigates the phenomenon of Exotism, by definition “the charm of the unfamiliar“. This Eurocentric view on faraway lands and people concentrates on the exotic aspects of „the other“ and stylizes natives into „the noble savage“. As an artist with German, Chinese and Indonesian family background but born and raised in The Netherlands, Emmerich examines her own existence in-between diverse cultures, without really belonging to one of them. While researching epochs, cultures, and persons on account of her interest in Exotism and Orientalism, she often assimilates their methods and styles. Typical for her work are the curvy, downright sensual lines that define Emmerich’s drawings, paintings, murals, and prints. Blossoms, heads, bodies, books, or African masks are ensnared in ornamental abstractions. Recently, Emmerich has begun to stage her exhibitions as a kind of salon with ochre-brown walls and all-over salon hang.
It is wonderful to see how, even though Hadassah Emmerich is a researcher of past epochs and an investigator of the “big” themes of colonialism and globalization, she is nevertheless able to keep her work playful and full of fantasy. In the end, her works radiate a mystical enchantment and with a slight shiver you seem to catch a glimpse of a “dark alluring world” somewhere within the jungle-like vines of her abstract arabesques.
Hadassah Emmerich investigates the phenomenon of Exotism, by definition “the charm of the unfamiliar“. This Eurocentric view on faraway lands and people concentrates on the exotic aspects of „the other“ and stylizes natives into „the noble savage“. As an artist with German, Chinese and Indonesian family background but born and raised in The Netherlands, Emmerich examines her own existence in-between diverse cultures, without really belonging to one of them. While researching epochs, cultures, and persons on account of her interest in Exotism and Orientalism, she often assimilates their methods and styles. Typical for her work are the curvy, downright sensual lines that define Emmerich’s drawings, paintings, murals, and prints. Blossoms, heads, bodies, books, or African masks are ensnared in ornamental abstractions. Recently, Emmerich has begun to stage her exhibitions as a kind of salon with ochre-brown walls and all-over salon hang.
It is wonderful to see how, even though Hadassah Emmerich is a researcher of past epochs and an investigator of the “big” themes of colonialism and globalization, she is nevertheless able to keep her work playful and full of fantasy. In the end, her works radiate a mystical enchantment and with a slight shiver you seem to catch a glimpse of a “dark alluring world” somewhere within the jungle-like vines of her abstract arabesques.