Florentijn Hofman is a Rotterdam based artist known for his 'Larger Than Life' installations in public spaces. His installations are hard to ignore and becomes the main attraction of that place. He believes the World to be a huge playground and chooses about any spot and material to showcase his installations and creativity.

His works are truly 'imaginative' and a 'treat for the eyes'. It is a pleasure to feature a great artist like him as 'Artist Of The Week' on our blog. Here's is a short interview with him:

Florentijn, please introduce yourself to E-junkies.

Hi E-junkies. I am Florentijn Hofman, a Rotterdam based artist, working all around the globe making works in public space.

Enlighten our readers with your wonderful artwork.

My work is known for integrating, intriguing and interactive installations into public space. It changes with great joy between performative (public) art and the domain of the sculpture (only to mention a few of the used media) and has a strong wish to amaze.

Your creations are larger than life and very commendable! What is the idea behind it?

It makes the world smaller and brings people together. It also reacts and freflects on architecture and commerce on the street.

What is the origin of your artwork?

Working on a big scale is interesting because the material you use becomes anonymous. Because you need so many material to cover a surface, it's not about the detail, it's about the bigger picture.

It means, people most of the time like the idea of lion work, find it incredible that so much work has been done to make the whole object.

Which was you first public installation? We would love to hear the story behind it.

Giant of Vlaardingen. I just came from Berlin where I followed a master course at the Kunsthochschulle Weissensee. I told everybody who I met in this fresh city, Rotterdam, that I was working on a huge rubber duck. I also did a study if it was able to make a 20 meter high rubber duck.

So, this institute thought that I always made big works and they asked me to make a huge wooden giant, made out of salvaged wood. That resulted in to this giant rabbit, the giant of Vlaardingen (the name of the city).

What influences your artwork? What kind of structures you like to make the most?

It's always a cocktail of question, setting/ location, history and budget. Besides this, it also has to do with my preferences. I like everything! I love to work with wood and metal, natural products and plastics. Also I love to work with inflatable structures and print-work or graphic design, multi disciplinary.

Which installation by you is closest to your heart and why?

I like them all the best,for all different reasons.

What materials do you use in creating these installations?

I use my head, think abstract, clay and paper, I normally make Marquette!

Share the best compliment you'd received ever.

This was a nice mail after my lecture in Brazil:

Hi I was in his lecture at the Pixel Show in Sao Paulo and loved it. I did not know his work and was very impressed. Your work is amazing! Thanks for coming and sharing a little of this universe with others. You'll always be welcome to Brazil! :)

A. A.

What would you like to advise an aspiring artist?

Keep on doing stuff, never stop and always maintain a straight look upon the world.

Thanks Florentijn for a great interview. It's been a pleasure to have you on E-junkie. All the very best for your future projects.

You can visit his website: florentijnhofman.nl.


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