Hilarius HOFSTEDE

Hilarius HOFSTEDE (1965)

Born in 1965 in Holland. A key figure in the Dutch avant-garde, Hilarius joined forces with Berend Hoekstra to form the pseudo "Polynesian Instant Geography", whose initials P.I.G. have manifesto value.

P.I.G. emphasises references to a fantasised Polynesian civilisation, of which they have only retained the warlike primitivism or ritual cannibalism, as an alibi for an enterprise to subvert Western culture.
Supposedly working as ethnographers, they take over museum institutions.
In the spirit of modern cabinets of curiosities, they accumulate transcultural references, confronting pop and contemporary art icons (Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst...) with naturalist collections or objects from the Marquesas Islands.
In a provocative and stimulating disorder that challenges the established order, they distil their own creations into the historical collections.

Hilarius Hofstede is a controversial artist who combines social criticism with historical awareness. Hilarius confronts our time with the nature and culture of the distant past and brings non-Western civilisations into his analysis of art and society.
Hilarius Hofstede's work focuses on pop culture, the natural development of the buffalo and our social development. His work expresses a commitment.
He is a multimedia artist who is able to superimpose images with combinations of texts and textures.