Gerhard Hillmann
Gerhard Hillman
Contact Gerhard
Biography
Gerhard Hillmann is an Australian artist who has established a career in the world of fine art photography. He was born in Cairns, Far North Qld, Australia in 1973 and grew up in the small town of Kuranda. His childhood was spent living in the rainforest & and diving on the Great Barrier Reef.
In his own words
“My interpretation of the organic world is embedded deep within each artwork. Because I believe we are all part of the landscape & not separate, many of my images explore this human-nature connection. I feel compelled to respond to the environment in a creative way & aim to promote a deeper appreciation of nature, which I hope inspires others to be creative. Beyond linguistics, an image has the ability to transcend language barriers and is open to individual interpretation. Through patient observation unique details in nature slowly become visible, this art of seeing inspires me to develop works which describe this experience of discovery. I attempt to capture the essence of a particular subject from the inside out. Depth, colour and a sense of movement are all applied to bring the viewer into the image. By immersing yourself in one of these artworks; subtle, intricate & vibrant details may suddenly appear, making the invisible visible, as the more you look, the more you see.”
“Photography plays a big part in my creative process, however, some of the designs start as an ink or pencil sketch. Traditional mediums like painting, drawing and even sculptural work are also used in the process on occasion. When fine art skills are merged with a photographic medium amazing details are brought to life. Regardless of which mediums I choose to work with, one thing is certain and that is my preference for using many layers and colour. This style of layering, blending and merging has taken me years to develop & continues to evolve in a progressive way. I call it organic photo-montage and aim to create still life images which are anything but still. They are intended to be full of movement, life and depth, which portray a hyper-realistic view of the world by jumping out at the viewer. This seamless blending of content allows memory & imagination to merge in unique ways. Many ideas are explored and some artworks are abstract enough to allow the viewer to interweave their own stories within them, open to interpretation. In reality, digital processing has replaced the traditional darkroom, but I see this as a positive thing. I remember replacing chemicals from the darkrooms with radiation from the computer screen. The computer allows me to combine everything I have collected and created in one seamless composition. Photography and technology continue to evolve, but, I still shoot some of my landscapes with a 6×17 panoramic film camera to get the high-quality resolution I am after.
Website for artwork: gerhardhillmann.com
Designer fabrics: naturesfacefabrics.com
