A small presentation in his memory
Last February, Teun Hocks passed away in his hometown Rotterdam at th e age of 74. Hocks was a pioneer in staged photography, a movement that was widely exhibited for the first time in 1986 through the exhibition Fotografia Buffa in the Groninger Museum. In 1999, Hocks also held a solo exhibition here.
A plodding anti-hero - that’s what they called the character Hocks invariably portrayed in his photographs. Alone in the world, tragicomic, melancholic, and treading the fine line between surrealism and slapstick. Hocks did not only play the leading part in his work every time, he also designed and painted his backdrops and took the photos himself by using a self-timer. The photo would then be enlarged in soft black and white tones and carefully coloured in with thinned oil paint.
“If people recognise this situation, I want to make them smile about the things that are actually a little bit painful. I hope that my work can bring some comfort this way. Solace starts from within, and my work helps me to put my own potential sadness about human destiny into perspective.