Hamburg is one of the biggest hosts of many alternative artists and it opens doors to those who do not tend to follow the mainstream trends. One of these artists whom I got to know in these splendid opportunity streams of Hamburg is Martin Dorsch whom I met in Stadtteil- und Kreativwerkstatt St. – Pauli as he was preparing his “Wood Pixel Works”. The “Werkstatt” we met is also an important place which gathers many artists and supports many artistic events in Hamburg which will be the subject of another article.
Born in 1976 in Wuppertal, Germany, Martin is an alternative artist with a background in history of arts and industrial design. Having moved to Hamburg with the hope of realizing his dreams on his artistic abilities 10 years ago, he now considers himself as a Hamburger artist, as he is inspired by the freedom and flexibility that Hamburg provides for many creative minds. After several years of working as a designer in international marketing and trade show business, he decided to fully dedicate his attention and time to his art and quit the comfort area of his job to realize his dreams.
His main topics are finding ways to picture persons and objects by questioning established methods and genres, the phenomenons of today`s life in modern society and their symbols like trade, media or money, realistic drawing or what we consider reality as form as such among others. Aided by computer technology, he reduces black and white portraits to a small number of pixels and 10 grey scales. Then he converts the emerging picture into 3D, relief type picture objects formed by colored wooden elements which he produces by cutting sticks in many different sizes. These are then colored in 10 grey scales in order to form the 3D Wood Pixel Works. He uses this wood mosaic technique to create a deeper effect of seeing the details that we can easily ignore in our fast daily lives. He uses many alternative issues and techniques in his art in order to create a more profound insight to daily life.
© Ebru Durupinar Photography
As a promising young artist, he carried out a handful of exhibitions:
UNITIEF, a group show with Marlet Heckhoff and Silvia von Pock in April 2016
TASTE, Festival of Arts, group show in August 2015
100% FRAPPANT, group show in September 2015
The next exhibition of Martin Dorsch can be visited on 14.07.2016 in Millerntor Gallery which reflects the collective and alternative soul of St. Pauli.
Millerntor Gallery is an international arts, music and culture festival for creative engagement, initiated by Viva Con Agua and hosted by FC St. Pauli in their Millerntor stadium. It is both an international gallery and cultural festival which reverberates the pith and marrow of St. Pauli. A great venue to smell an alternative outlook of Hamburg and highly recommended for a weekend visit.
You can check Martin Dorsch`s works and Millerntor Gallery from the following websites: www.martindorsch.de and millerntorgallery.org
© Text and Photography: Ebru Durupinar | Ebru Durupinar Photography
