Tobias Cohrs

Tobias Cohrs (born 1991) currently lives and works in Hamburg. In his artistic practice, he explores the question of identity in the contemporary Western individual. He is particularly interested in fetishistic behaviours, consumerist impulses and the restless quest for immediate gratification of instincts. These phenomena, which lead to the increasing oversaturation and inner fragmentation of the individual in late-capitalist society, form the conceptual core of his artistic exploration.

Observations from St. Pauli, where he lives, as well as impressions from social media, shape his choice of motifs. For each series of images, he immerses himself in specific visual worlds, ranging from X (Twitter) to historical documents, in order to carry out his specific artistic research, which also influences the continuous development of his style.

Luther and Playmobil, urinal and crescent moon, meteor, pistol and genitals, children’s drawings, propaganda posters and motor skills loop. In his larger works, Tobias Cohrs combines figurative, object-like and abstract visual elements. Through repeated layering and manic breaks, the contrasting visual elements jostle for position without ever fully coming to the fore. A struggle for attention ensues, creating a friction that dissolves the symbolic meaning of individual elements. What remains is the impression of a brutal and inescapable simultaneity of opposites.