Simone Haack
Exploring the Limits of Perception
“My work is at the crossroads of hyperrealism and abstraction. I paint spaces that do not exist, but that feel strangely familiar.“
A painter native to northern Germany, Simone Haack is inaugurating her very first solo exhibition in Paris at the Bastian gallery. For the occasion, the artist met with Say Who to discuss this unknown realm that fascinates her, where the line between reality and fantasy is blurred.
Hair seems to be a recurring element in your work. Where does this fascination come from?
Simone Haack:
At the time, I was working on a painting but realized half-way through that I was satisfied with it. As I was trying to destroy it, I thought that hair as I painted them could say something else. It was a key moment in my career. Hair carries our identity, our DNA: it says a lot about us, and I found it interesting to work with that theme. Hair is both very tangible but can also serve as an abstract backdrop. I like to give it a duality.
How do you blend hyperrealism and abstraction?
Simone Haack:
The first time I saw Dali’s paintings, in the early 1990s, it was like a revelation. I was fascinated by this combination of real and surreal elements. I wanted to include a fairly figurative part in my painting that would capture reality, so that I could then give it a more dreamlike, eerie twist.
These hunting scenes are reminiscent of traditional still lifes. Therefore, they aim to depict reality, but I have added distortion by adding hair, which blurs the lines and takes us elsewhere. Similarly, I wanted to portray a scene from nature that is quite typical of the region where I grew up: the marshes. But here, the moss running over the roots of these trees is made of hair.
My work belongs to what is known as magical realism. When I paint a mane of blue hair, I think of an underwater world, the abyss. It represents the concept well. You can really feel that the shades and light are drawing you under the surface. And yet the representation of this combed hair keeps us at a distance.
In Heterotopia, you engage with Michel Foucault’s idea of “other spaces.” What drew you to this concept?
Simone Haack:
Since I was a teenager, I have made a habit of writing down interesting details of my dreams in a notebook upon waking up. I am fascinated by the distortion of reality that occurs when we’re dreaming, when the unconscious takes over. Michel Foucault wrote extensively about this territory, this liminal space lying between the real and the unreal, and it immediately resonated with me. What he refers to as utopia is something that does not exist, but which refers to reality. There is a boundary. This mysterious zone, on the edge of perception, greatly appeals to me. Between the intimate and the collective, between the organic and the artificial, there is an enigma that I like to try to capture.
Your exhibition also features a few photographs. What do you like about this medium?
Simone Haack:
Hyperrealism is a bridge between painting and photography. It feels quite natural for me to use this medium, and I like the representation of reality that it offers. I find that the subjects add an even more enigmatic touch.
Interview by Nicolas Salomon and Agathe Ternoy
Photo credits: Jean Picon
