Balanced precariously on a chair, this self portrait of the artist with his blank thought bubble, thick blond hair and bright pyjamas moans in a comically pathetic voice about how sick and neglected he is. Ersatz refers to an inferior imitation, and here van Hout is referencing himself through a scaled down model replica. Van Hout frequently uses toys, models and found objects such as those used by young boys in his sculptural installations. Much of his recent work sees the artist portrayed in a variety of different guises, such as a monkey that paints or a dog that sculpts, documenting in a humorous and autobiographical way the many facets of his personality.
Ronnie van Hout studied at the University of Canterbury from 1980 –1982, majoring in Film Studies. In 1994 he was granted a studio residency through the ELBA Art Foundation in Holland, and in 1996 he participated in the artist-in-residence programme at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. In 2004 van Hout held a Creative New Zealand Visual Arts Residency at Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin. In 2003 his work was the subject of a major survey show, ‘I’ve Abandoned Me’, an initiative of Dunedin Public Art Gallery. The show toured throughout New Zealand.

Purchased by the Friends of Christchurch Art Gallery, 2007
Reproduced with permission
Mixed media
2007/006.a-g
2005

Collection tags

chairs, checker pattern, furniture, hair, illness, men, pajamas, People, sound, speech, words