Weserhalle presents Adham Was Here, a solo exhibition by German artist Jochen Mühlenbrink, featuring new works on mirrored glass. Drawing on trompe-l’œil traditions, the works explore perception, surface, and the relationship between viewer and image.
Image gallery
Portrait Jochen Mühlenbrink
At their core lies a universal urge: to leave a trace — a quiet claim of presence. From marks carved in stone to smudges on misted glass, each says the same: I was here.
Mühlenbrink paints directly onto mirrored surfaces, using layers of resin that mimic fog or condensation. Simple gestures emerge: smileys, stick figures, smears. Casual at first glance, each is meticulously placed — fleeting marks, suspended between presence and absence.
The show begins at the window: a skull and the words Adham was here, as if written with a finger in steam. The phrase echoes graffiti across the street, once meant as an insult, now reframed as a spectral signature — tying into the exhibition’s themes of trace, illusion, and reflection.
Where earlier works opened views outward, these new pieces turn inward: they reflect the viewer and pause the moment. For Mühlenbrink, illusion isn’t trickery, but an invitation to stillness — to notice what remains, what fades, and the act of looking itself.
