DARK LIGHT, 2014
The Dark Light series emerges from a specific geography of encounter. With the painter's studio situated at the very centre of the city's nocturnal life — amidst the charged theatre of bars and nightclubs — the works are informed by the intimacy, performance, and after-hours mythology of that world.
In this series, Heimler & Proc depart from the conventions of the old European masters, who traditionally eschewed black as a colour in its own right. Encountering painting in Aotearoa, they observed a different chromatic lineage: in New Zealand art history, artists such as Goldie, Michael Smither and Shane Cotton deploy black liberally and with potent formal equivalence to any other hue.
In dialogue with this art tradition, Heimler & Proc's own practice has evolved. Dark Light marks the point at which black is fully embraced — not as absence or shadow, but as presence — in their depictions of New Zealand nightlife scenes.
Sparks on the Volcano (122 cm x 91 cm)
South Side Story by Heimler & Proc is a striking car painting that reworks the rival-gang drama of West Side Story against the volcanic landscape of Auckland.
In this dynamic diptych two classic automobiles confront each other on a grassy plain beneath a stormy sky and the distinctive slopes of Auckland’s volcanoes. A woman in a flowing dress leaps dramatically from one vehicle while a sharply dressed man reaches across from the other; their interlocking bodies form a bold X composition that unifies both panels and drives the eye across the canvas. Passengers look on with mixed expressions, heightening the charged atmosphere of tension, passion and place.
South Side Story (122 cm x 122 cm)