Improvised Reality

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Berlin Artist’s Surrealist Collages Channel His Inner Nietzsche and Dali

“I would say my work is more transformative,” German artist, drømsjel aka Pierre Schmidt tells us. “It’s a little bit like jazz, there is a standard melody in this world and I just play over the top of it with my improvisations – everything that comes in my mind and is not possible to describe with words”. His surreal collaged portraiture takes materials he gleans from the web, like old magazine ads as a jump off point.

Faces are often depicted as melting or else morphing into other objects. There’s a strange historical air about them, as if they come from an indeterminate past that never really existed. But there’s more than a whiff of that 50s Americana associated with the heady early days of consumerism. This symbolic dissolving of imagery from that period perhaps also suggests a rejection of its morals, or perhaps a nihilistic rejection of morals at all.
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If i was to gravy you
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Certainly, drømsjel’s referencing of philosopher Friedrich Neitsczhe in some of his works’ titles might hint at this. We decided to get some alternative perspectives from drømsjel:

The Plus: Can you describe your process?
drømsjel:
It’s always different and depends on the collage material that I have found. The artwork itself is the result of many different steps during the process of working on it. I try things out, throw out initial ideas or find out new forms of composition. Hence, factual coincidences occurring during the process of arranging the various constituents of the picture lead to the development of entirely new concepts. Applying this form of work, I sometimes find myself surprised with my own final product.
Blue Monday
TP: Can you tell us about the Nietzsche-inspired titles?
d:
I really like some ideas of Nietzsche and his view of this world. Some are provocative, but always fresh and it gives me another perspective on things.

TP: What was the last great exhibition you went to?
d:
To be honest I don’t go to exhibitions very often, but a great one I visited some time ago was about Salvador Dali here in Berlin.
howtodisapearcompletely
TP: How do you relax away from your work?
d:
Listening to beethoven is really relaxing for me. But I also like to just go offline, away from the desk, no mobile phone, and go outside.

TP: Are you working on anything at the minute?
d:
Yes there is a bunch of work on my desk at the moment. Some new album covers, works for magazines and also some exhibitions are in the planning stages.
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