M HKA Ensembles

Drawing

Collection: Estate Bernd Lohaus.

Large rolls of white paper comprise the supporting surface for Bernd Lohaus's monumental drawings.  By placing objects on the paper and recording their contours, Lohaus gives his works form without revealing the 'secret' of the original template.  The bizarre forms have no clear designation.  Small personal pronouns or prepositions like 'ich', 'du' and 'als' complete the pages' composition.

By using two pencils in a single sweeping movement, the tracks of the one form the echo of the other.  'Ich geh weiter' (I go further).  A two-coloured pencil in blue and red yields a single running line that abruptly changes colour.

Long walks along the Scheldt River’s quaysides inspired Lohaus to use water- and earth colours.  Is it the movement of water and air that we perceive in the taut pencil stripes?  A minimalist arrow propels "à cause de moi".

Words denote relationships and activities drawn from daily life.  Small letters that whisper ‘ich hore Anny blockflüte spielen’ ('I hear Anny playing the recorder), stand in contrast alongside a clear ‘JA’.

 ‘Nur’, ‘ich’ and ‘als’ (Only, I, as) examines the relationships between words and their meanings.  It is probably no coincidence that a white pastel is used for 'as', a proviso.  The word is only visible with a particular incidence of light.