Sept 2002
Dear all,
This is Hans Christian Schink, photographer. Quietly spoken, modest, intelligent, and very articulate and a friend. His work is highly respected as part of the modern German tradition...large (up to 2x5m) and nowadays colour.
Born in the east & educated at the well known Leipzig art school, he worked, as most did, initially in B&W. Sprang to prominence by managing to photograph the unfurling of a highly provocative banner right under Eric Honnecker´s nose at the (last) May 1st celebrations in 1989, and smuggling the film to the west via Poland despite being arrested on the spot by the Stasi.
However, B&W didn´t work for him, so he sought a more formal abstraction finding the appearance of "colour, brightness, and form to lessen the distance inherent in B&W" (his words! ok?).
He also moved away from the portraits, street and journalistic styles, now preferring the "products or evidence of people"...notably in his "Verkehrsprojekte Deutsche Einheit" (look it up!), which has recently been exhibited as an ongoing project throughout Europe and the US. It depicts the new autobahns and bridges that have appeared here in the last 10 years, slicing somewhat violently through the once familiar landscape of his youth but says "it´s not so much of a political statement as a private impression of loss". There´s also a new book in progress. Search google.com and you´ll find lots on this guy!
Righto,
Dean
PS. Next month "why artists are such difficult partners", and at last, "the truth about German coffee."