#1 Camouflage
Photographic print (Lamba print) Kodak Endura paper on aluminium, matte coating 120 x 140 cm (47 x 55 inch)
Edition of 3
After his graduation Han Hoogerbrugge (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) worked as an artist in the classical sense, he painted, drew, made installations and sculptures. In 1996 he made a self-portrait as a comic strip image for the first time. In that same year he started to explore the internet and created a website named ‘Modern Living’. At first he showed his comic strip on the website, but came to the conclusion the internet was not the right medium for a static comic.
The moment he discovers the possibilities of gif-animations, he starts to make small animations for the internet: the ‘Neurotica’ series. This series contains small animations in which Hoogerbrugge plays the main part, as his self-portrait in everyday neurotic situations. They reflect his dreams, hope, fears, demons, conflicts, questions, humor and lust. An attempt to visualize the contemporary spirit by the adventures of his leading character. Without language, only image. Yet gif-animations have restrictions, there’s no interactivity. In ’98 Hoogerbrugge discovers the animation program Flash. This software enables him to incorporate interactivity and sound to his animations. Flash turns out to be an ideal tool to shape his ideas and thoughts. From that moment on all his animations are made with Flash and the famous, typical Hoogerbrugge flicks were born.
Since 2002 Hoogerbrugge publishes short, sometimes absurd animations on his website ‘Nails’, where again, he is the main character. But contrary to the former Neurotica series, these animations are not set in a static interface. They are set free in space without a horizon, an even lonelier environment.
Nowadays Hoogerbrugge is fully utilizing the possibilities of broadband internet: more kilobytes mean more space for duration and interactivity.