Station: [3] Jochen Hein: „North Sea“ (2003)

Consisting of three parts, the monumental painting forces us to let our eyes wander over the roiling sea again and again. There is nothing to hold on to, no fixed point. Where is the viewer located? Somewhere in the air and yet close to the sea? It is difficult to say — we are poised like a bird.

There is no nearby shore or a town on the distant horizon to offer reassurance. Man is left out of Jochen Hein’s seascape: no one is to be seen, not even signs of human existence. And yet we are integrated in the image or, more precisely, we are made to feel as if we’re right in the middle of it. Hein uses a familiar image to appeal to us. While he doesn’t tell a story, there is, of course, much we recognise in the surface. We are encouraged to rethink things which at first glance appear so clear. What does the sea hide? What secrets does it possess? Is it even deeper than we suspect it to be? What role do we assume vis-à-vis this elemental force?

Hein prepares the canvas in an elaborate process. The surface is built up of numerous paint layers, creating an almost sculptural effect. Then an erasing machine was employed for this work: in a process familiar from dentistry, the foam was ground out of the paint layers. As we look out over the turbulent water, our gaze is thus directed by cleverly designed lighting in the form of countless light reflections.

The artist wants to understand [quote] “how, through light, we perceive the surface of the world and what it all means to us”. [unquote]