Andreas Hetfeld

After spending a year at the Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart, Andreas Hetfeld (born in Reutlingen, Germany, 1965) studied creative therapy in Arnhem and Nijmegen and then art at the Arnhem Academy of Art and Design (1996). In 1998 and 2001, he worked in Bedburg Hau and Geldern (both in Germany) supported in part by a scholarship.

‘As diverse as my work may be, what it’s actually about, a lot of the time, is trying to capture that one elusive moment that keeps slipping away from me. Dawn: It’s that split second when the night is over and the day begins, that interval of quiet some­where between light and darkness, between yesterday and tomorrow, when time stands still. That’s the most beautiful moment of the whole day. It’s so brief yet so infinitely long, without beginning or end. Mysterious, inexplicable, and immaculate’ (2004)

Even in his youth, Andreas Hetfeld was fascinated with anything related to flight. He explores what flutters and glides through the air, what makes a valiant attempt to get off the ground. In his work, he combines the human figure with ingenious constructions evoking an adventurous sense of liberation.

His oeuvre displays a search for new means of expression intended, as always, to realise the same dream: ‘to escape his everyday human limitations.’ Goethe once said: ‘There are two things children should get from their parents: roots and wings.’ This quote is an extremely apt metaphor for his work, an appropriate description for the basis of human development, for the rooted condition of being a human being who longs for the freedom of flight. Andreas explains that his alliance with the natural world is visualised in the form of tree trunks that serve as the basis for modelling the human body.

His nest projects, collaborations with Suus Baltussen, are particularly unique and involve having participants build gigantic bird’s nests. Nest 1 was constructed of natural materials with the participation of Dutch foresters, 550 school pupils, and passers-by. Visitors reached the nest by means of a ladder. Inside, they discovered a highly polished metal egg that emitted the gentle sounds of whales. Nest 2 was built with the help of senior citizens, school pupils and foresters. This time, the nest made of twigs, branches, leaves, moss and other materials was located in an industrial building, the nest itself being pierced all the way through by one of the building’s pillars. Next to this nest lay an egg made of highly polished metal. Nest 3 will be built in The Hague in the spring of 2008. Nest 4, a living work of art, will be developed in March/April 2008. This will be a collaboration with Museum Middelheim in Antwerp, in which Andreas and Suus, along with many other people from Het Kiel, the neigh­bourhood adjoining the museum, will build an enormous growing nest.