Self taught artist, professioneller Amateur, based in Hamburg, Germany
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I paint, make collages, write poems & kind of lo-fi produce weird pop records & zines + self-publish them in very limited, mostly handmade editions, while I basically give most of my music away for free digitally.
Thanks for being here!
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In meinen Papiercollagen sowie in meinen Arbeiten, in denen ich Malerei und Collage kombiniere, entwickle ich vor allem Landschaften, die für komplexe Figurengruppen zu Bühnen werden. Mir geht es darum, in den Bildern Eingänge zu fantastischen Erzählungen offenzulegen, ohne jedoch Geschichten erzählen zu wollen.
Das Arbeiten mit den Händen und auch das Arbeiten mit Papier ist für mich dabei essentiell. Ich bin also ein altmodischer Künstler, wenn man so will (vielleicht sogar ein altmodischer Mensch, wie selbst manche meiner Liebsten spotten würden). Und doch spiegelt sich in meiner Arbeit, gerade auch in der Auseinandersetzung mit oft sehr altem Quellenmaterial, sicherlich die heute allgegenwärtige Reizüberflutung durch rasenden Medienkonsum - und eine tiefe Sehnsucht nach einer schamanisch geprägten neuen Jahreszeit.
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In my paper collages as well as in my works, in which I combine painting and collage, I mainly develop landscapes that become stages for complex groups of figures. My aim is to reveal entrances to fantastic narratives in the pictures, but without wanting to tell stories.
Working with my hands and also working with paper is essential for me. So I'm an old-fashioned artist, if you will (maybe even an old-fashioned person, as even some of my loved ones would scoff). And yet my work, especially in the examination of often very old source material, certainly reflects today's omnipresent sensory overload due to frenzied media consumption - and a deep longing for a shamanically shaped new season.
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Works marked with * are already sold or not available.
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For more information about other works, for studio visits, etc.
please send me an e-mail
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CV
1983 born in Essen, Germany
1994 moves to lower saxony
1996 starts playing guitar
2004 moves to Düsseldorf
2005 moves to Hamburg to form a band
2006 first recordings and performances
2007 first paper collage
first record release in limited edition
2008 first mixed media collage
2011 first exhibition
2013 first zine / first poetry collection
2014 moves to Bochum
finishes state-approved training as nutritionist
finishes state-approved training as memory coach
2016 moves back to Hamburg
2019 B.A. Kulturwissenschaften- / FU Hagen
(Bachelor thesis about Max Ernst`s collage novels)
2023 becomes a father
-Solo Records-
2023 - Demos 1011 - EP - (digital)
2017 - Neue Farben - EP - (limited CD edition + digital)
2016 - Find the moon - EP - (digital)
2014 - The Magic Okustra Symphony Party - LP - (limited CD edition + digital)
2012 - Okustra - LP - (limited CD edition + digital)
2012 - Rain you / Colors - Single - (digital)
2011 - Parangartirunajo - EP - (limited CD edition + digital)
2010 - Tarangiapapu - EP - (limited CD edition + digital)
2009 - Hillchild - LP - (limited CD edition + digital)
-Band Records-
2014 - Bambikonzept - Bolk - EP - (digital)
2011 - Bambikonzept - 123 - LP - (limited CD edition + digital)
2007 - Shabbybeauté - Merkwürdiges Leben - EP - (limited CD edition + digital)
-Other Records-
2021 - Le Magnetophone Ne Marche Pas - Fichten/ Getränk - Single - Recording & Mixing
-Exhibitions-
2018 - Millerntor Gallery #8 - group exhibition - Millerntorstadion, Hamburg
2018 - Art and Cake - group exhibition - Hamburg
2016 - Traum und Morgen - with Fabienne Houdret - Kunst Kiosk, Hamburg.
2014 - Kunst Kiosk Geburtstag - group exhibition - Kunst Kiosk Hamburg
2011 - Eine Wand im - Kunst Kiosk, Hamburg
Want to get in touch?
Why don’t you just write me something nice?
okustra@gmx.de
INSTAGRAM:
@j.p.sohlmann
BANDCAMP:
okustra.bandcamp.com
NOTE
I give most of my music away for free digitally. So if you are interested, just head over to my bandcamp and download whatever you like. In most cases you can name the price. (This stuff is NOT on spotify.) Most of these records were produced in the time between my 24th and 34th birthday. I recorded more than 100 songs in that period. It’s all pretty demo-ish, - solo,, bands, projects - mostly recorded in rehearsal spaces, bedrooms etc. - but there are quite a few pearls to find beneath the dust, I think.
I do not sell any prints.
If you want to support me directly, you can always buy my original art. I have original collages, drawings and paintings available. I also have handmade CD and Zine editions. So if you are interested in collecting my work, you don’t have to spend hundreds or thousands of euros or dollars or whatever (you are always welcome though) - it starts with as little as 10 EUR for certain CDs oder Zines.
I am honored by every purchase!
A series you should also check out:
Gegen das Alltagsgrau (- >Look for GDA in the menu)
It’s actually a series of series, that I consider to be something like special collectibles…
If you are in Hamburg and you are interested in collage art, feel free to write me in regard to a studio visit. If you are interested in ordering an original artwork, just shoot me a message and I will gladly send you more information about available works…
Thank you
J.P.