“Breathe! Sleep! Eat! Play! Dream! This is what art says.” Meese prefers to be alone in his studio – dancing, screaming, painting. He sees himself as the servant of art: “I’m always on duty. I’m doing what art wants me to do.” As a child and teenager, Meese led a rather hermetic existence, and it was when he discovered art at the age of 22 – on a trip to Hamburg to celebrate his birthday – that he truly felt that his “struggle” ended.

“You should never be against your mother or your parents.” Meese – who has always had difficulties accepting authorities – has a very close relationship to his mother, whom he sees as a “natural authority”, whom he therefore can respect: “When an authority of her capacity says ‘finish’ – then I finish!”

Jonathan Meese (b. 1970) is a German artist who works with paintings, sculptures, installations and performances. His works, which are often multi-media, include collages, drawings and writing. Meese’s work is exhibited at prominent venues such as Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Saatchi Gallery in London and Kunsthalle Bielefeld. Moreover, he designs theatre sets and wrote as well as starred in the play ‘De Frau: Dr. Poundaddylein – Dr. Ezodysseusszeusuzur’ in 2007. Meese is based in Berlin and Hamburg.

For more about Jonathan Meese see: http://www.jonathanmeese.com/

Jonathan Meese was interviewed by Christian Lund in his studio in Berlin in February 2011.

Camera: Marie Forchhammer and Martin Kogi
Produced by: Martin Kogi and Christian Lund
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2012

Supported by Nordea-fonden