Article
2/15/23

“Seascape” (2023) by Heino Schmid

written by Jodi Minnis
edited by Amanda Coulson

Within Heino Schmid’s solo exhibition, “In this house is a home…”, are a collection of small yet robust assemblages. The assemblages are made primarily of wood, some contain limestone, mahogany pods and are marked with acrylic paint and graphite. Schmid pulls in worn copper, bits of clay and fabric to create intimate objects that explore the structural and sentimental aspects of “home”. While this exhibition can exist as a personal exploration into domesticity, Schmid’s practice usually holds space as a cultural analyzer, pushing his audience to bring their observations of our culture at large into the conversation.

Home is where one dwells, and it would be amiss to not consider the role of the landscape within this work. Schmid’s “Seascape” (2023) is a small, 5.5 in. x 4.5 in. x 1 in, assemblage made of wood, tin and copper. The form is representative of a house with two “windows” and implications of a door. The tin at the bottom left corner of the work is speculated to be a hill; which I believe is supported by the bottom of the copper not being flush with the bottom of the wooden support. At the top of the picture plane, a “roof” is implied by two wooden 90 degree angles converging to a point, slightly off center. While there is interest to be found in the texture of the rusted tin and copper, or even the nails that fasten those pieces to the wood, I find myself mulling over the succinct blue lines two thirds of the way into the picture plane, cutting through the right “window” and extending to the end of the plane. In reference to the artwork’s title, I understand this line to allude to a horizon line, separating sea and sky.

Schmid is not keen on decorating; therefore, presently, the use of color within his works is sparse and deliberate. Understanding his philosophy of color makes the inclusion of this vibrating line even sweeter. “Seascape” (2023) felt familiar but not near. The development of New Providence over the past twenty years has reduced the visibility of the shoreline. Pockets of the shore are accessible during drives along the coast, but they are interrupted by walls enclosing private properties, condominiums, and hotels. Considering this, I wondered where “Seascape” exists in our current context. Before exploring it’s present context, I’d like to consider the past. “Seascape” exists within our archive as “Negro Cabin, Foxhill, Nassau, Bahama Is’ds” (1901) by William Henry Jackson. 

William Henry Jackson is an American photographer who “traveled to The Bahamas in the winter of 1900-1901”. In “Bahamian Modernism” by Dr. Erica James, art historian, curator and assistant professor at The University of Miami, James writes, “capitalizing on the increase in tourism on a global scale during this period, [Jackson’s] primary purpose was to take photographs that would later be marketed and purchased as postcards by those dreaming of travel or those who desired mementos of past travels. His images are in a studied conversation with Coonley’s but far more specific in content and narrative”. William Henry Jackson, along with Jacob Coonley, sit at the genesis of Bahamian photographic history and provide visual language for us to craft narratives of our past ways of existing. Though his gaze is complex, Jackson’s “Negro Cabin, Foxhill, Nassau, Bahama Isl’ds” reminds us of a time when a home with an oceanview in New Providence remained accessible. Fox Hill is an historic town within eastern New Providence founded in 1801 by Samuel Fox, a formerly enslaved man. Though this constituency is culturally and historically rich, the present connotations of the community would not trigger ideas of serene ocean views.

Furthermore, expanded considerations of who we believe ocean views are for, war with “Seascape” (2023) by Heino Schmid and “Negro Cabin, Fox Hill, Nassau, Bahamas Isl’ds” by William Henry Jackson. Structures as meager as the cabin and Schmid’s assemblage existing without obstruction to water’s view within New Providence are ripe for “development”. This development promises the same view for more people but usually not for those who had free access to it prior. Schmid is an observer. Carefully digesting and ruminating over the landscape, Schmid takes notes of our relationship to the ever-changing nature of this space. The fabrication, deconstruction, and obstruction of this space becomes the base of exploration for Schmid and though not overtly, he makes calculated annotations on it. Schmid’s oeuvre becomes a marking of time, a personal archaeological journal that gives the audience a brief glimpse of the scribbles on his observations. The observations often are diplomatic in nature, stating a true thing or, like “Seascape” (2023), a prompt for reflection.

Heino Schmid is a Bahamian multi-media artist working in a variety of disciplines that drive his creative process of visual deconstruction and cultural analysis. Working primarily in iterations of charcoal on paper, Schmid’s gestural drawings focus on the nuances of posture, relation, and reduction. As an observer, Schmid pulls from remembered gestures as a primary visual vocabulary. The figures in the work are a compilation of moments, interactions, and idiosyncrasies from those in his immediate space creating a sense of familiarity between the subject and the viewer. Schmid’s three-dimensional and installation works are composed of objects from the landscape and detritus. Once again pulling from his immediate space, the objects that appear and reappear throughout his oeuvre become a visual language that shifts in translation.

Exhibition: In this house is a home…