DP ART EXHIBITION - Nina Hönemann

Nina Hönemann

Aesthetically Challenged Vase with Roses

Watercolor on clay with dried roses / 25x15x15cm

Traditionally, white sculptures have been used to depict images of perfection. However, this piece aims to subvert this trope through the depiction of an asymmetrical, wounded face in combination with dried, dead flowers. The aspects of the sculpture that make it unique and, in the eyes of society, imperfect are highlighted in red which is reflected in the color of the dried roses. The piece shows how the theme of withered beauty in nature and the beauty in wounded faces intertwine.

The Beauty of Disease

Acrylic on canvas / 70x50cm

The painting shows the face of a person currently in the infectious stages of smallpox which used to be a widespread viral disease with an extremely high death rate. Survivors were left with deep scars on their heads and extremities, forever marked by the experience both physically and psychologically as infection would lead to being socially outcast. This painting aims to humanize victims and their struggle in defying death and judgment.

The Beauty of Hate

Acrylic on canvas / 70x50cm

Dead victims of war are often commemorated and celebrated while those defaced by war are often hidden from the public eye, silenced and ignored. The painting is based on pictures of facial damage of World War 1 veterans before facial reconstructive surgery. The colors are meant to make the person look unnatural and sick while also alluding to the copper statues that were never made of ‘damaged’ soldiers acknowledging their pain and struggle.

The Beauty of Jealousy

Acrylic on canvas / 70x50cm

Women are usually the victims of acid attacks as a result of rejection or other relational issues. These attacks are fueled by jealousy or a need for revenge and are specifically committed with the aim to deface the victim. This piece illustrates how survivors are permanently impacted by this type of violence, having to live with the stigma and judgment associated with being the victim of this type of crime.

No Oil Painting

Watercolor and colored pencil on paper / 28x21cm

The idiom ‘to be no oil painting’ denotes a person's lack of attractiveness which, in this case,

is meant both figuratively and literally. The face, asymmetrical, ungroomed, scarred and ravaged by time considered to be ‘ugly’ by most societal standards was painted using watercolors. This underlines the contrast between the medium of oil which is commonly used in the creation of beautified portraits.

Rosa hybrida (preserved)

Acrylic on canvas / 50x70cm

The painting shows a blossoming rose in ice. In our constant struggle to preserve beauty, we sacrifice and compromise its essence. Life and the knowledge of its transience are stripped from the experience of being in the presence of beauty. Unnatural physical and emotional distance is created by our striving for control which results in the complete destruction of beauty, on a cellular level, if ever let go in the form of defrosting.

Curatorial Rationale

The exhibition explores the theme of ‘preserving beauty’, on the one hand using roses as the symbol of ultimate natural beauty and humans’ obsession with its preservation and, on the other hand, the preservation of the physical beauty of human faces.

Humans, and especially women, strive to obtain and preserve beauty as we often reduce each other down to our physical appearance. Faces are essential to the human experience,

they define first impressions and perceived beauty over any other part of the body. This makes it all the more devastating when they are ravaged by things such as time, disease, acid or war. The faces in this exhibition are supposed to represent refreshingly honest versions of what human faces can look like, in the age of filters and perfection. They show how traumatic experiences have shaped people and their faces, but most of all they are supposed to show the beauty that can be found within survival.

Roses are the epitome of natural beauty and humans have had the urge to preserve them for a long time. We have developed sophisticated methods for the preservation of organic

matter, two of which can be found in this exhibition, freezing and drying. In both methods water, the basis of life plays a critical role in the death of each cell in order to preserve the

overall rose for viewing purposes. Ironically, in order to preserve its beauty and the appearance of life, the organism must be killed, robbing it of its essence.

The ‘aesthetically challenged’ vase in the shape of a mutilated face, containing dried roses, connects the two themes of preserving beauty in a way that I hope challenges the traditional expectations of bouquets, busts and vases.

While the three acrylic paintings of faces are stylistically similar, showing how the experience of disfigurement connects them, they are hung in a way that makes them appear to be

looking away from each other. This is supposed to show how isolating physical deformations can be as one becomes the target of countless stares, especially when the abnormalities are located in the facial area and difficult to conceal.

In designing my exhibition I chose to present these works as I felt that they went well together and explored the common theme of ‘preserving beauty’. They are deliberately arranged at eye level for the viewer to face the horrors and beauty of reality.

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