Lives, works and thinks in Vienna

Human beings are in the focus of my work – their interaction with the surrounding and the society, the way they deal with difficult situations. I am not interested in the details of their faces or their bodies. I am rather interested in what they are capable of when they happen to be in special life situations. I am interested in their ways of finding solutions and strategies, their will to achieve their goals and their joy in life.

I am interested whether these people seek their fortunes alone or in company. My starting point is the human dignity. I often place extraordinary people at the centre of my works. I do not want to depict them as individual characters, but rather as representatives of people, who are willing to walk long distances to achieve their goals. I give curtain calls to people who usually stay out of sight. Very often, women are most worthy to call attention to.

I am working partly in traditional handcraft techniques, which establish a relation to the person and/or situation. Handcraft – for thousands of years known as the art of ordinary men and women, is representing to me human creativity and joy of life. Their aspiration is to remain in memory, to create something significant. These techniques help me to emphasise the importance of the portrayed people.

https://www.boukal.at/

Artwork: Rewind: Volkstypen, two-part embroidery, cotton threads, 23 x 27 cm each (unframed), 2024 – from The Line of the Valley – Part II (2024)