Friderike Heuer
My work as a photomontage artist is primarily concerned with issues that involve both historic and contemporary conflict. One major topic has been migration, exile and displacement (THE REFUGEES’ DREAMS; ON TRANSIENCE; SEEING STRANGE). As an immigrant myself I try to express the difficulties of adjustment, but also what different cultures have in common and how they benefit from integration. Currently I am focused on how we can re-think our approach to nature and prevent dire consequences from thoughtless exploitation or denial of scientific facts. I am using a narrative approach, retelling the story of the whaling industry which did lasting damage to both the whale populations but also the way of life of many First Nation people, as well as others who had a stake in a vibrant fishing industry. Given the history of Oregon’s own communities experiencing the decline in salmon and other fish due to industrial intervention and resource mismanagement, I thought it was an important topic. The current series POSTCARDS FROM NINEVEH combines photographed snippets of 17th century Dutch paintings about whalers with modern landscapes and bird populations of the Pacific Northwest. The title is a play on Jonah who was once swallowed by a whale, but who engaged in prophetic warning of the population of Nineveh to change their ways or face destruction.
The photomontages are combining and manipulating digital photographs in the Adobe Photoshop CS6 program, and then are printed with archival ink-jet print on German Etching paper.
Artist website: friderikeheuer.online
