Jan Peter Hammer

Jan Peter Hammer

Stuttgart, Germany, 1970 Lives and works in Berlin, Germany.

With a great interest in the theory of film and literature, specifically the Nouveau Roman, the early work of Jan Peter Hammer focused on environments and objects endowed with a fantasy character. And since the financial crisis in 2008, his work has been committed to political discourse.

The artist has a firm conviction that narrative practices provide a point of view for criticism, since they allow to approach theories such as neoliberalism, in such a way that people are forced to reproduce their ideological determinations instead of referring to the mere concept.

DUG, 2018 (30’) instalación en KHiO | 2022

DUG, 2018 (30’) Installation at KHiO | 2022

Jan Peter Hammer, "The Scream", 2015.

Jan Peter Hammer, "The Scream", 2015.

«Jan Peter Hammer believes the interrelation between literature and film is fundamental the for the development of contemporary artistic practices.»

Jan Peter Hammer believes the interrelation between literature and film is fundamental the for the development of contemporary artistic practices. Is the reason why after the adaptation of The Anarchist Banker to the screen he continued to make a series of works that seek the importance to notions / concepts that often only appear as remote generalities. To give an example, in one of his most recent works a security guard was hired to sit idly on a quantity of cash, during the opening hours of the gallery. That is, while the function of the guard was to watch over money, the function of money was to pay the guard to be able to see him. Reminiscent of Beckett's literary works, guard and money were locked together in an absurd game, which turns the invisible abstraction of the economic cycle into a painfully concrete action. The artist makes it clear that although money has no price, the guarantee of its value always carries a high social cost.

For the Tilikum project, created for the 2013 Bergen Assembly, Peter Hammer talks about the tragic story of a captive orca in order to address the idiosyncratic ideological foundations and oddities of behaviorism, neuroscience and the management of philosophies. Also in this case, the artist focuses on the experience of an individual - although in this case it is an animal - as a means to make sense of the great social puzzle that is around him.

Labor Image
"Monarchs, Men and Monsters". Vista de instalación, 2014.

"Monarchs, Men and Monsters". Installation view, 2014.

Man & Dolphin | Madera labrada y libros | 21 x 76 x 23.5 cm | 2015

Man & Dolphin | Madera labrada y libros | 21 x 76 x 23.5 cm | 2015

Memorial for the Losers of the Reunification | Bronce | 91cm x 107 cm | 2013

Memorial for the Losers of the Reunification | Bronce | 91cm x 107 cm | 2013

Tilikum| Video HD| 45 min | 2013

Tilikum| Video HD| 45 min | 2013

Tilikum| Video HD| 45 min | 2013

Tilikum| Video HD| 45 min | 2013

The Fable of the Bees | Video HD | 2012

The Fable of the Bees | Video HD | 2012

That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Unseen | Performance | 2012

That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Unseen | Performance | 2012

Yo y el otro | Arreglo fotográfico | 102 x 145 cm |2011

Yo y el otro | 102 x 145 cm |2011

Das Wettrennen | Tubos de luz neón | 79 x 51 cm | 2010

Das Wettrennen | Tubos de luz neón | 79 x 51 cm | 2010

The Anarchist Banker | Video instalación | 2010

The Anarchist Banker | Video instalación | 2010

The Boy Scout Project | Archive project | 2000-2003

The Boy Scout Project | Archive project | 2000-2003

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