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Painted Photographs of a Man’s Mid-Life Crisis

Interdisciplinary artist and photographer Teun Hocks combines his varied passions for art in his multilayered creations that lie somewhere between photographs and paintings. In an interview with ArtInfo, Hocks explains his arduous process: “There's a big backdrop that I paint or build, or whatever's needed, and I stand in the middle of that. Then I take a picture of myself in black and white and enlarge it. I do it myself in the darkroom with a little bit of help. Then I tone the picture sepia. And later I add oil paint. I color everything, but it's transparent, so that you can see the picture underneath.”

It's a lengthy technique that involves the incorporation of multiple mediums to produce each shot but, in the end, we're rewarded with some fantastically surreal depictions of an older gentleman going through the motions of life with a hefty dose of humility. Serving as both photographer and model, Hocks stands in as the subject in each of his surrealistic images, offering the diverse reactions of what some might refer to as a mid-life crisis.

The Dutch photographer's series of photographic creations remind me of Gilber Garcin‘s body of work that, too, reflects on a man's standing in life. While they differ aesthetically, they share a similar quirkiness in their content. Both Hocks and Garcin place themselves in front of the camera, representing the average man at a point in his life where he is met with adversity and questions his next move.














Teun Hocks website

Pinar

Pinar Noorata is the Managing Editor at My Modern Met. She is a writer, editor, and content creator based in Brooklyn, NY. She earned her BA in Film and Media Studies from CUNY Hunter College and is an alumni of the Center for Arts Education’s Career Development Program in NYC. She has worked at major TV, film, and publishing companies as well as other independent media businesses. When she isn’t writing, editing, or creating videos herself, Pinar enjoys watching movies, reading, crafting, drawing, and volunteering at her local animal shelter.
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