Childhood memories are central to Martin Honert’s artworks which was presented by the Nationalgalerie in a comprehensive solo exhibition in the main hall of Hamburger Bahnhof. Derived from images that have been preserved in his memory as well as family photographs and drawings he made as a child, the artist recreates moments from his own past and transforms them into three-dimensional objects.
In a complicated creative process, he condenses memories of games, lessons and scenes from his childhood into single impressive pictures. Behind every object is a story that has been shaped by the fantasies, ambivalent feelings and experiences of a child. The remembered moments are based on personal memories and yet at the same time are a testament to childhood in the early years of the Federal Republic of Germany in the post-war period.