– Please tell us something about yourself.
Yes, maybe I should start by saying that Jorg Karg is a pseudonym that I use to publish my work. This artificial figure gives me the opportunity to work freely. This is something very important to me. Like a protective shield which I can use to create my works behind.
I did not try to gain any access to the art market until 2016. But after the decision was finally made, I was really surprised to be directly nominated for The BLOOOM Award 2016 and to have the opportunity to present myself at the Cologne Art Fair. After that I found awesome gallery support, which made it possible for me to exhibit excerpts of my work in Germany. The journey went on in 2017. In that year I was shortlisted for the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize and, as a result, I exhibited in London. Later that year I was able to present my work in the Netherlands and Sweden. When I write these words today I feel absolutely gifted. These great opportunities changed my life.
I did not try to gain any access to the art market until 2016. But after the decision was finally made, I was really surprised to be directly nominated for The BLOOOM Award 2016 and to have the opportunity to present myself at the Cologne Art Fair. After that I found awesome gallery support, which made it possible for me to exhibit excerpts of my work in Germany. The journey went on in 2017. In that year I was shortlisted for the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize and, as a result, I exhibited in London. Later that year I was able to present my work in the Netherlands and Sweden. When I write these words today I feel absolutely gifted. These great opportunities changed my life.
– Why did you chose to complement your photography work with digital collage? What did photography was missing that you found in collage?
I think collage is maybe just my weapon of choice. For many years I have worked extensively with drawing and painting. But I always had the feeling that everything seems so static. These media are very restrictive and limited for me. And that for a significant reason. You don’t have many possibilities for corrections and changes. I have learned that total flexibility is a great gift. And it doesn’t matter if it’s given by a digital software. To be able to make every conceivable change and transformation at any point, simply offers the widest possible playground. For me, a picture emerges gradually. Gerhard Richter once said in an interview: “I just keep going until nothing is wrong”. I think that’s basically a pretty good description for the process. I correct step by step sections which do not seem right to me at this point of time. This always creates something unforeseen and I have to react to complete new situations almost every second. The result is kind of a self-automation process. It is a very exciting procedure and I love to work this way. Additionally it is a very intense connection to the work itself and to the development. Being able to intervene quickly and flexibly in everything is great. At the same time, I also think that it is very contemporary to use all available tools to push the limits of your work.
– What´s your definition of collage?
I think there can never be a final and conclusive definition for collage. Just as for all other areas of art like e.g. painting and illustration. There will always be somebody making the next step we didn’t expected and people will discover new areas, new ways. Unfortunately we want to put a label on everything. Maybe to write a book about it or to write it on the blackboard at faculties during lectures. To be completely honest, I hope that in the distant future, no technical descriptions for artworks will be required anymore. Hopefully this will give us more room to interact with the works itself.
– Which are your most relevant influences?
To be honest with you I have to say that my most relevant influence is undoubtedly an absolute obsession for pictures, graphical and creative materials. I went through all the stages of this special disease. Since my childhood, I have dealt excessively with drawings and paintings. But I think these are sentences that are heard quite often when artists are supposed to describe their love of graphic art. But my obsession continued with me and has increasingly influenced my everyday life. Anyway. Later, photography became more and more my favorite toy . I was finally able to catch the everyday situations that have always fascinated me so much. Very often I’ve been and I’m still heavily influenced by everyday situations, and I’ve often asked myself how other people can just go past this extraordinary image which is maybe e.g. just right by their feet. While writing this I remember a special situation where I laid down on the ground to take a photo of a flower in the middle of the city. People past by and I still remember today that they looked at me like I’m completely bonkers.
But I think what you would like to read here are the big names who maybe influenced me. Many years I have visited all the exhibitions that I have been able to reach. It was a great pleasure for me to go for it on the weekends or similar occasions to try to see everything that is exhibited in art houses all around Germany. Of course, many names have stayed with me. But what touched me most were more details in different pictures, images or sculptures. Shapes or compositions. Also the life stories of some artists have particularly touched me and helped me to understand the work better. I loved to absorb everything like a sponge. I think all these impressions are subconsciously present all the time and everything is unintentionally swinging in my work today.
But I think what you would like to read here are the big names who maybe influenced me. Many years I have visited all the exhibitions that I have been able to reach. It was a great pleasure for me to go for it on the weekends or similar occasions to try to see everything that is exhibited in art houses all around Germany. Of course, many names have stayed with me. But what touched me most were more details in different pictures, images or sculptures. Shapes or compositions. Also the life stories of some artists have particularly touched me and helped me to understand the work better. I loved to absorb everything like a sponge. I think all these impressions are subconsciously present all the time and everything is unintentionally swinging in my work today.
– What you wish to communicate with your art?
I wouldn’t say that I try to communicate. I guess it can be described as an interaction with my environment. I unconsciously include everything that happens around me into my works. In addition I can express myself by that and react to all influences. It’s my way to express myself and to have the best possible time. It may be described very well as a valve. I absolutely enjoy the process of creating my works. Maybe this is hard to understand, but for me the best day is to spent it with something that doesn’t make sense at all. Without any doubts, fears and demands. The result is actually always a very private piece of my inner self. To create an artwork is nothing our world really needs, but for me it means everything. So maybe it’s a very selfish process. Nevertheless I am very happy when people react to my work. Interact with the pieces. Maybe feel what I felt during the process. That makes me very happy because I realize I can touch people with my works. Which influences me with doing the next one. Everything builds on one another and helps me to create the next better work.
