Julius Hofmann (*1983) studied under Neo Rauch and Heribert C. Ottersbach at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig. Since graduating in 2011 he has focused intensively on issues of picture composition and the representation of space and surfaces in the digital age – in painting and, for a number of years now, also in the medium of computer graphics and 3D animation. For Hofmann, the two artistic techniques are closely related and influence one another. Where the worlds, cities, settings, landscapes and protagonists in the films reflect their origins in painting, Hofmann imports the style and characteristics of animation into his painting. The new film “Ikonen” is now undergoing its premiere at the MdbK. Also on show are extended versions of the two first chapters of his “MoYE – Might of Young Engines” project, begun in 2014.

Of the four chapters planned for “Might of Young Engines”, two films of approximately 20 minutes each have been completed so far (2015 and 2017). At the end of the project, which Hofmann plans to complete in 2020, there should be a 120-minute film in which each chapter tells its own story, with these connected to the other parts, combining to ultimately form one story. The first part of MoYE is related to the horror and giallo genre and references Italian films of the 60s and 70s, whilst in the second part the proximity to American film noir, psycho thrillers and hardboiled detective films can be seen.

Julius Hofmann’s new animated short film “Ikonen” consists of five episodes and focuses on television and cinema advertisements with their semi-fictional advertising icons. In the first clip a brutally disturbing ego shooter game is advertised, whilst in the next catharsis follows in the form of a detergent with star potential. In their overall sequence the five clips form a multicoloured tableau that reveals the dulling and strive for optimisation of a consumption-driven society with humorous and grotesque excess. At the same time, “Ikonen” is also an homage to the hedonistic advertising age, which for Hofmann appears to bear an artistic signature.