I come from a small village in the far east of Germany, where I grew up in a house with my siblings, parents and grandparents. My childhood is embedded in the post-reunification period and many things there still seem a bit out of time. I was surrounded by forest, animals and especially older people with an agricultural background.

The figures I deal with in my work are the result of yet another patchwork. I usually mix “stolen” inspirational images from the internet and art history that inspire me such as lesbians of tiktok, movie screenshots, classical paintings, fashion editorial, stories of my friends etc. and pictures I take myself, which are usually self-portraits or portraits of my partner, our dog, my friends and family, my objects. So I always start from existing images that I hybrid together and repaint.

I don't like the idea of something coming in and out of my studio quickly, there is a temptation to produce too much ‘stuff’, and slowing down can help limit the amount that I’m putting into the world. I love the slowness of making which comes from working with lots of layers, slowly adding and removing to build form.

When drawing with charcoal you’re essentially making works out of powder, out of dust. I chose to work on raw canvas so that any minor mistake or fingerprint would be there forever, as I can’t erase or paint these things out. I think the nature of the medium gives them a delicate ghostly quality, as everything looks like it could be blown away on the next gust of wind.

I think I connect the idea of home with the forest, nature and a sense of belonging together. I feel more comfortable in nature than in the city because I really enjoy observing everything in nature, even the smallest leaf. Everything in nature is so beautiful to me.

In our first of these informal intro’s Raffael Bader will be writing about his works in the Chapter One of Becoming Habits.