Norwegian artist Hedi Xandt creates unique macabre sculptures that are grotesque, horrifying, yet at the same time absolutely beautiful and stunning.
Hedi Xandt is a multidisciplinary creative who has a formal graphic design education, but doesn’t see himself limited to this field. His work takes the form of fine art paintings and sculptures. Xandt’s sculptures are visually powerful and conceptually compelling.
He is known in art circles for his beautifully gruesome sculptural pieces, which often incorporate elements of the human skeleton. Xandt is particularly fascinated fascination with skulls, human anatomy and classical Hellenic Greek art. Taking inspiration from ancient Gods and beauties carved in marble, he transforms these figures of perfection to align with his own dark vision, with skulls being one of his favorite themes.
“The skull is a very powerful symbol. It’s being used around the world as the sign for death, poisons, or evil. At the same time, the skull guards your mind throughout your whole life, making sure you are safe in dangerous moments. I like this contradiction. Also, each skull has its own face and expression. It is our second face beneath all skin and flesh. Isn’t that mesmerizing? Sometimes I look into the mirror and try to figure out how my skull might look like, and if and how it will someday be visible. This might sound apalling, but actually, it’s beautiful.” He says.
The head and bust are symbols of both art and humanity, but the aggressive nature of Xandt’s sculptures makes it appear as if he is reshaping these classical notions into his own twisted vision. The sleek and stylish “killings” of classical art coincide with his philosophy about skulls and human anatomy. In fact the pieces that contain ancient Greek sculptures are actually scans of the real deal. He likes to use the very classical appeal of marble-white Hellenic faces and brutally alter them.
His sculptures regularly feature skulls or other distinguishing features, composed of gold-plated brass. The gold acts as an accent that adds an element of awe to the work, yet it also adds terror when for example it takes the form of a disfigured skull.
His creative process involves the written word, too. He writes poetry and/or short stories to identify and explore the topics which he then renders in his chosen material, polymer with distressed black finish, metal, and marble. Apart from his fascination with skulls though, most of his work deals with dichotomies in aesthetics. In some of his bust sculptures, soft and organic human forms are juxtaposed with the hard, nails, spikes, or other tough industrial shapes. Enjoy some of his best work below.
