Hochofen der Gefühle

Socially shaped by skateboarding and graffiti, Wayne Horse, civilly known as Willehad Eilers, honed his drawing talents at the celebrated Dutch State Academy of Fine Arts, among other places. In his Amsterdam studio, he consciously accepts the loss of control when working. In terms of method, this is done, for example, through the consumption of intoxicating amounts of absinthe or painting blindfolded; in terms of content, through his oft grotesquely coarse party scenes which resonate with a good portion of social criticism as well as life on the edge à la 1920s' Berlin—Otto Dix and George Grosz say hello! Eilers's approach engenders his works with a vitality that is otherwise difficult to attain. That here and there facial features slip, or that on occasion a hand does not exactly stay where it belongs, is without doubt advantageous to a ballroom scene. The approach taken by the artist to the mural format on the façade at the Handwerkergasse entrance to the Völklingen Ironworks is that of a large-scale, gestural drawing in black on red—with an unfettered line and a graphically effective placement of flat surfaces. According to Eilers, Hochofen der Gefühle (Blast Furnace of Emotions) is a visualization of an extravagant, "posh party" of the industrial tycoons situated in a location that is historically and closely linked to the "rough working-class milieu."

Daniel Bauer