stitches
Christian Hein's pictures materialize visual memories in a way that no smartphone or camera can record.
In the "Stitches" series, the artist predominantly uses cross-stitch pattern templates on paper from old pattern booklets and some pages from his expired passports as image backgrounds and combines these with current image motifs executed in oil paint. Christian Hein's pictures initially force the viewer to notice their materiality. One would prefer to touch them, as the eye is irritated by the trompe l'oeil-like combinations of painted and printed backgrounds. Painting becomes camouflage. The scenes depicted show everyday and unusual postures and gestures of people. The motifs are taken from both press publications and private imagery, indicating a deliberate blending of the public and private spheres. The small-format works play with the figure-space relationship and representation in the real pictorial space. The title "Stitches" alludes not only to the cross-stitch patterns, but also to the combination of different elements, similar to the process used in media technology. TikTok uses "Stitch" as a tool to quote videos and create new contexts. The artist takes a similar approach with the juxtaposition of painted motifs and printed cross-stitch patterns: He merges different time levels and realities, creating new meanings. The backgrounds show clear signs of use and thus also refer to the material history of the image carriers.
Cross-stitch patterns are traditionally part of a design process that is rooted in craftsmanship and decoration. The superimposition of modern lifeworlds (scenes) and everyday moments creates an exciting encounter between old and new. By juxtaposing old patterns and modern scenes, the artist invites viewers to take a closer look and reflect on continuities and ruptures in human experience.
In a world in which people seem to be increasingly demanding seemingly unambiguous answers and increasingly yearning for a lack of contradiction, the "Stitches" series contrasts these developments with ambiguity, parodic aesthetics and the richness of complex living environments.
