German born Willehad Eilers, also known as Wayne Horse within his artistic practice, works between fine art, blind drawing, videography, audio production and installation. He has been living and working in the Netherlands since he moved to Amsterdam to study fine arts but still relates closely with the German art scene. To be able to work in the absence of arrogance, Willehad uses a technique called blind drawing which eliminates predictability within his drawings. Unconsciously grotesque; Eilers work demonstrates an abstract way of creating that relates more to a feeling rather than an exact art. He uses this method of working as a continuum throughout all of his creative practices; therefore, creating only entirely unique outcomes.

What first drew you towards the Arts?

For as long as I can remember I have been drawing. As a kid I would draw battle scenes. In black and red. King Kong fighting the army. I was allowed to paint a wall in my room. Hundreds of men and tanks shooting at a monkey. Later I got into comic books and gave that a go until I started graffiti around age 13. Followed by a period of melancholic watercolours as I discovered ‘the doors’. I also started to fiddle with stop motion animation and edited my first videos of my friends and I skateboarding. Then I got into punk and started to draw monsters again, and French girls smoking bongs. Again some more graffiti until I somehow ended up at art school in Amsterdam.

While growing up, ‘the arts’ was the only constant thing in my life. I have never consciously decided to start ‘the arts’, I just never quit expressing myself that way. Also anything that helped me grow up and define who I grew to be was loosely connected to it. From the zap comics I found in my father’s shelves as a young boy to graffiti that carried me through my teenage years. From music videos and short films, back to drawing and painting. While I do remember my first contact with the ‘art scene’, ‘the arts’ as an activity were a given and ever present.

Can you explain the name; Wayne Horse?

The name is a reminder of my late teenage years. Me and my friends were shooting skateboard videos, which, with the introduction of alcohol, slowly turned into videos of us ‘breaking the law’. We decided to wear masks and use superhero names. My name at that time was Wayne mc Steal. Over the years the last name kept changing. From Wayne Champagne to Wayne Lacrosse, down to Wayne Lambrusko and back up to Wayne Horse. Wayne Horse was the name when I set up my first website in 2003. I felt I could not break a promise made to the internet and stuck with this last name. Horses are noble and elegant animals. I like horses. I like the sound they make when you hold your head to their cheeks while they are chewing. Also Wayne Horse has a similar phonetic as my real name ‘Willehad’. I am working under both names now.

Your work could be described as grotesque; why do you love to produce work in this style?

The grotesque is not a conscious choice. I think it can be traced back to my blind-drawing, the distortion resulting from not looking at the paper or canvas while creating the line work. I try to feel and paint what I see rather than what I know. This way the resulting image does often not have much resemblance to the drawn object or person but carries some of its truth in it. In my blind drawings of party scenes, many of the faces were scratched out, fading into other nearby objects or persons.

That worked very well on the black and white pieces. It added to creating a piece that could be both, abstract and figurative. However, when I started using oils, the deck was reshuffled. Now I had to define all the lines I had thrown mindlessly around the room before. Everything is something. I came up with the storyline that the painting does not depict a certain moment but an overall atmosphere, including moments before and after the illustrated image. So the loose lines become an indication of time and open the possibility to tell more aspects of a story. I think a lot is still to happen in that process in the days and years to come. I am not even one year into working with oils yet, so I expect the technique will undergo quite a few changes. Anyway, when looking up the definition for grotesque, among others it was described as ‘fantastically ugly’ which I gladly claim.

Do you draw and paint from real life or are your pieces inspired from something you envisage?

There is not one strict rule I work by. I often use pictures of real events as a starting point and follow what the work dictates along the way. I do research a lot of nightlife photography from destinations like Magaluf, Mallorca, Lloret de mar or Ibiza. Some of the snapshots of people drunkenly struggling to mate or even walk have a very beautiful almost sculpturous quality. I rearrange these images into the structure of old paintings of famous battles. Each generation their own war. At other times I just create big scenes of debauchery, starting with one character and then trying to read which type of company this character demands. The best feeling is when the work starts to set its own rules and I just obey and follow. To get back to the question, in general it helps me to use sourced material. At least at the beginning. It helps me to break the ice and opens the possibility to react. The finished pieces are most of the time a collage of real life and fantastic additions.

You use a method called blind drawing for some of your pieces, can you explain this technique in more detail?

In 2012 I was fed up with the way I was drawing. I felt there were no surprises left in it. I knew before I started a work what the outcome would be. I had the feeling that the only thing the result communicated was ‘look at me, I have skills’. I was ashamed. In consequence I started on a crusade to destroy all arrogance in drawing and for the following 5 years drew only blind. I wanted the lines to be free of doubt and trying to be something. I wanted them to be natural and stand for themselves.

The only way I believed that, in my lines, was in blind drawing. These lines were testimony to their creation. I could decide if I like or dislike them, but all are equal. They all in themselves are perfect. Later, when I started to miss compositions I changed the rules a little. I was allowed to open my eyes whenever the pen was not touching the paper. This way I kept the element of randomness, while being able to spend a longer time on planning and executing. I keep the blind element to this day. It is important to me to destroy a piece before I start it. To me this is the only way I can work freely. There may be no holiness in the painting. I cannot deal with all the hesitation that springs from building a shaky tower of well executed choices, getting more and more careful and slow in fear of throwing it over. Jenga, motherf**kers.

What other methods do you use to create work?

I think that my work is about an attitude rather than a medium. I do not only paint or draw but I also make videos, record audio pieces or do installation. My general method for working is to try and create something that I am not sure I will be able to pull off or explain to people. I expect my work to excite me. So the best method to create work is doing what I would deem unacceptable, unasked-for or undoable. This sounds rather noble, but can in some cases mean something so rank that the art becomes hard to present it with a straight face.

How does your artwork correspond within the German art scene?

Even though I developed as an artist in the Netherlands, I do feel a strong connection to German artists. I did not consider this before, but got told by numerous people that my work was ‘German’. I thought the people were making an easy comment as they knew I am German. It does not matter to me all too much, but many of my favourite artists are from the German scene. I do like the seriousness in which even the most laughable matter is being dealt with.
Germany has changed a lot, in my opinion ever since the football world cup in 2006 when a tabloid newspaper encouraged people to keep the flags hanging until long after the cup was over. Being German used to be something that one was not proud to admit when being abroad. In fact, most people would do anything to avoid anyone finding out. I grew up with a guilt and while I do not think that is necessarily a good thing, I do like the behaviour it provokes, because I would try and be as considerate as possible. I think the new found pride in nationality is a disease. My apology for answering a different question.

Where do you see yourself in five year’s time as an artist?

I am following my work. I do not have a career plan set up. Things are going well these days and I hope it will continue. I am a hard worker, so I do my best to keep creating and keep the work exciting. It is not a choice to work. I need to do it to feel at ease. So I hope for the best, but the only thing certain is that in five years’ time I will still be an artist.