Born in 1964, Dutch visual artist Marcel Heijnen has lived in Asia since 1992, calling first Singapore and now Hong Kong his home. An enduring optimism and curiosity about life and its many layers of meaning drives his creations. Having lived in rapidly growing cities, Marcel notices the walls of old buildings and pieces of infrastructure being replaced by new development. This inspires him to capture different aspects of street life in Asia against a background of urbanisation & impermanence.
Inspired by the Zen philosophy, Wabi-sabi, he applies the concept: “nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect” in his creations. He aims to capture change – using still images – to show that everything is a process, in continuous flux. Like the Japanese ceramicist, he roughly knows what he is going to get, but not specifically. That is where the uniqueness of his series ‘Residue’ comes from.
His creativity also nurtured him to be a designer & musician, and he is self-taught by learning things from experiences & life. Marcel has participated in numerous exhibitions & art fairs in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Netherlands. Currently, five publications are introducing his art accomplishments. He has published five books to date and in 2021, the reputable British art book publisher Thames & Hudson will release two more of his books.