ARTIST STATEMENT
I apply shapes, colors and compositions to canvas, statues and installations, which usually do not pretend to be of what they actually are. I draw my inspirations from my dreams and my own experiences from my immediate environment. Behind each and every work there is a story that has touched me personally in a positive or negative sense. Hence my works contain magical-realistic elements that will not be easily revealed by the viewer without knowing the underlying story. I thereby challenge the viewer to take a good look for him- or herself and read their own story from my work, taking a dialectical approach to intercultural communication.
BIO
H. J. Oortwijn a.k.a. “HAMPVS” is an autodidact. He has been drawing since his childhood and started oil painting at the age of 12. In 2009 he started sculpting and making installations using different types of natural stone, concrete, Plexiglas and steel. His works are characterized by deliberately leaving the raw material used partly visible and unprocessed to show its natural texture. The origin of material used and location also play an important role in the story he is telling in his works.
HAMPVS is a storyteller who wants to connect people and cultures through art. Intercultural communication has been playing an important role throughout his professional career at multinational companies. It is through intercultural communication that we come to create, understand, and transform culture and identity - he sees art as a mean to an end in this perspective.