Introduction to the Ethno-Reliefs

The “Ethno-Reliefs” are a long-term artistic project in which fragments of different world cultures are reconfigured and condensed into reliefs and object assemblages. They are spaces for reflection on questions of cultural identity, globalization, and transformation.

The starting point is the observation that in the age of globalization, traditional forms and values of cultural identity overlap, dissolve, or recombine. In the Ethno-Reliefs, myths, religious symbols, scientific orders, and trivial fragments of everyday life collide—forming a visual archive in which the complexity of human forms of expression becomes visible.

The works are neither ethnological studies nor museum collections. Rather, the “foreign” is taken up in an artistic transformation: with an attitude that oscillates between seriousness and playful naivety. A leitmotif is the unadulterated gaze – similar to that of the Brazilian tribe that interpreted the planes crossing the sky every day as sacred signs and reproduced them with their own means.

This creates images of an intercultural aesthetic that oscillates between appropriation and irritation, between sacredness and triviality. The “ethno-reliefs” are not only mirrors of cultural shifts, but also independent poetic formulations – at once critical, humorous, and sensually experiential.

Die Ethno-Reliefs standen mir auch als Interpretationsmodell für Holzschnitte zur Verfügung. Es entstanden dabei 7 drei- bis vierfarbige Drucke in der „Verlorenen Platten“ Technik, in einer Auflagenhöhe von je 30 Exemplaren je Motiv, Druckstockgröße von je ca. 90 x 45 cm.

THE FOREST, German Interpretation (2011), height approx. 2.10 m The sculpture *The Forest – German Interpretation* (2011) takes the form of a tall, rectangular wood relief that addresses the cultural significance the forest holds in the German collective memory. Rather than a realistic depiction, the work presents an assemblage of signs: carved animals, hunting gear, a hunter’s hat, ornamental elements, and fairy-tale figures coalesce into a pictorial space that oscillates between folklore and myth. The forest thus emerges as a cultural construct—one that, since the Romantic era, has served as a projection surface for identity, longing, and ideology. At its base, the work features a cluster of golden walnuts, symbolizing both a natural fruit and an object of great value. Their gilding transforms the everyday into the cultic, pointing to the metamorphosis of nature into cultural representation. Within the context of the "Ethno-Reliefs" series, the work exemplifies how ostensibly "native" symbols are subjected to the same critical scrutiny as ethnographic objects—through processes of condensation and defamiliarization, and by revealing the mechanisms of cultural self-affirmation.  WEINSELIG [Wine-Inspired] – German Interpretation (2011), height approx. 2.10 m. The sculpture *Weinselig – Deutsche Interpretation* (2011) takes the form of a large-scale wood relief that links sacred pictorial traditions with contemporary symbols. At its center appears a group of figures whose gestures recall religious scenes while simultaneously alluding to the dual nature of wine: as a Eucharistic symbol and as an expression of convivial intoxication. Rows of ornamental motifs and grape-like forms evoke layers of cultural memory spanning folk art and natural fertility. In the lower section, a computer keyboard and circuit boards contrast with the organic material, pointing to the presence of digital culture. The result is a tableau of cultural history that reflects German traditions, festive culture, and spirituality, as well as their transformation in the age of technology. *The Sea – German Interpretation*, 2011, height approx. 2.10 m. The sculpture *The Sea – German Interpretation* (2011) depicts the sea not as a landscape, but as an ensemble of cultural signs: fish, a ship’s wheel, figures, and heads combine nautical craftsmanship with fairy-tale and colonial iconography. The pirate flag ironically alludes to the sea’s ambivalence as a place of longing, adventure, and threat. As in the other "ethno-reliefs," folk culture, technology, and myth coalesce into a tableau that reveals the sea as a cultural construct—a projection surface for freedom, danger, and colonial expansion all at once. The sculpture "Asian Interpretation: Sacred Cow" (2011, height approx. 1.80 m) takes up a central symbol of Indian culture but transforms it through the lens of the "ethno-relief." The cow’s body opens to reveal a red interior space where figurative scenes and ritual arrangements become visible. Some of these elements are movable and can be set in motion by hand—an allusion to cultic practices, processions, sacrifices, or theater. The work thus addresses both the "sacredness" of the animal and the cultural staging of the sacred. As with the German interpretations (*Weinselig*, *The Forest*, *The Sea*), the aim is not a naturalistic depiction but rather the revealing of cultural codes—here, in the encounter with the "foreign," which is simultaneously reinterpreted through movement and intervention. SACRED COW Asian interpretation, 2011 Height approx. 1.60 m                                             “Me and the Sacred Cow” – This ethno-relief combines veneration with defamiliarization: scenes revealed within the cow’s body are set in motion by manual manipulation, thereby making the enactment of ritual and myth visible. *Asian Interpretation* (Video, electro-kinetic, 2011, approx. 2.10 m). The sculpture *Asian Interpretation* (2011, approx. 2.10 m) combines a wood relief, video footage, and electro-kinetic elements into a complex multimedia work. Its starting point is the Japanese *Kanamara Matsuri*, a Shinto festival celebrating fertility and sexuality through phallic symbols. A screen in the upper section displays scenes from this ritual, while a movable penis—installed inside the wooden body—becomes visible at the push of a button, though only through a peephole. This staging oscillates between public celebration and intimate observation, between collective ritual and voyeuristic individual perception. The choice of a peephole as the optical interface highlights the fact that cultural symbols are always mediated by framing, gazes, and distancing. At the same time, the electro-kinetic movement points to the mechanization of ritual and the transformation of sacred signs within the context of Western art. As with the other "ethno-reliefs," the aim is not an "authentic" depiction of foreign customs, but rather their translation, refraction, and cultural mirroring. The work exemplifies how the project interrogates both the "familiar" and the "foreign" in the same way: as symbolic systems that are simultaneously constructed and rendered strange through technology, ritual, and cultural projections. African Interpretation (2011, height approx. 2.10 m) – The sculpture *African Interpretation* (2011, height approx. 2.10 m) is part of the "Ethno-Reliefs" series, combining carved figures, animal depictions, and everyday objects into a dense tableau. At the center appears the bust of a Black man, flanked by animal motifs such as giraffes and antelopes—imagery that immediately evokes stereotypical, tourist-oriented, or ethnographic representations of Africa. Yet the work does not stop at mere folklore; it incorporates kinetic and acoustic elements, a golf club and ball, and footprints carved into the wood. These symbols allude to colonial history—to humiliation, exploitation, and the shifting of cultural self-perceptions through the colonial gaze. Golf—an emblem of European upper-class culture—appears here as a foreign element that inscribes itself upon and overlays the African world of motifs. In doing so, the work not only addresses the diversity of African visual and narrative traditions but also exposes the ruptures, wounds, and power dynamics born of colonialism and Western projections. Within the context of the "Ethno-Reliefs," it serves as a prime example of how cultural identity is not homogeneous but shaped by stratification, external influence, and resistance—and how these tensions materialize in symbolic objects and materials. Detail: *African Interpretation* (2011) – This detail from *African Interpretation* (2011) clearly illustrates the dense layering of key visual motifs: in the foreground stands the carved bust of a Black man, flanked by figures and animals—a giraffe, an antelope, and cattle—evoking both ethnographic depictions and the aesthetic of tourist souvenirs. Into this arrangement intrudes the incongruous element of a golf club and ball—symbols of colonial imposition and social hierarchies. A close-up view reveals how the relief highlights ruptures and contrasts: traditional African woodcarving meets European leisure culture, while the dignity and strength of the depicted figures exist in tension with the ironic, almost cynical inclusion of colonial objects. This layering underscores the extent to which cultural identities are shaped by violence, appropriation, and external imposition—and how the "ethno-relief" artistically reflects these processes.   Three-sided Stele: African Interpretation (2011, height approx. 2.10 m) This three-sided stele condenses African symbols, masks, weapons, and instruments into a panorama of ritual, violence, and cultural power. Black and red hues allude to history and sacrifice, while flea-market objects from Belgium—incorporated into the piece—inscribe the colonial past of Leopold II into the work. The result is a monument that inextricably links African tradition with European aggression. Stele – African Interpretation (2011, height approx. 2.10 m) combines carved heads, animals, masks, and weapons with a worked ivory tusk—a symbol of hunting, trade, and colonial exploitation. Blood-red reliefs and rifles allude to violence and oppression, while many incorporated objects originate from Belgian flea markets, thereby inscribing the Congo and the colonial crimes of Leopold II into the work. The stele presents African forms caught in the tension between cultural expression and European appropriation—a critical counter-monument to colonial history. Detail: *African Interpretation Stele* — This detail from the *African Interpretation – Stele* shows three dark, polished faces emerging in relief from the black background. The heads appear both lifelike and frozen—framed by rough tool marks that suggest an aura or a fracturing of the material. This concentration of forms reveals the essence of the entire stele: the ambivalence between presence and objectification. The faces recall the carved souvenirs found in markets across Africa and Europe, thereby bearing the traces of colonial regimes of the gaze. At the same time, they radiate a dignity, gravity, and humanity that elude such appropriation. It is precisely in the detail that one sees the stele is not merely a repository of ethnographic forms, but a critical depiction of how representations of human beings have been ground down between art, folklore, and colonial appropriation.                                                  Photo: Peter Stollenwerk                              Me at the "WELTENBAUM" exhibition                      2022   The image vividly illustrates the concept behind the *Ethno-Reliefs*: the artist stands amidst an intricate web of masks, figures, instruments, and carved fragments that function like a multi-layered archive of cultural symbols. His gesture—a finger pointing directly at the viewer—immediately draws the audience into this "universe." It becomes clear that the focus is not on distant cultures viewed as museum-case artifacts, but rather on a living engagement in which the viewer’s own gaze becomes part of the artwork.