Mathias describes the Joker as a force shaping his artistic vision. “Maybe he’s the one who founded Beyond Nudity. He is dangerous, sweet, and decadently toxic – but also kind and caring.”
Together with the painter Hans Puts has Mathias explored the blend of society, sensuality, and religion through a series of staged scenes. “Reality can be more flexible than most people dare to imagine. This is an experiment – a way to let everything merge together into one. Call it rituals or theater.”
The social context is central to Mathias’s art. “The Joker is the one who fully enjoys the game of life, and in that, there are extremes and vulnerability. The Joker is me. The Joker is you. He exists when we are at our strongest and weakest at the same time.”
In this process, boundaries fade away. “The line between dangerous and harmless, between thief and police, becomes irrelevant. Think of Dirty Harry – he’s a cop, but his behavior breaks the law. In the same way, the Joker challenges the norms and rules we live by.”
This collection of works, balancing between the dangerous and the beautiful, the chaotic and the controlled, will be displayed at ”What is Happening Here Gallery” in Amsterdam. Here, art and the audience meet in a space where anything is possible – and where boundaries disappear.
