The Coming Out of Alex Diamond
When the fictional personae of Alex Diamond first appeared on the art scene back in 2004, it was part of a performance piece: A detail of a conceptual exhibition Joerg Heikhaus, artist and owner of heliumcowboy art space, was showing at his gallery in Hamburg. Little did he know that he could create such a hype around an anonymous artist.
“I came up with the character of Alex Diamond, when I was creating the work for the show in 2004. It was different compared to most of the stuff I had done as an artist before, so I felt I needed to introduce a fictional character. Someone, who would become a part of the story I‘ve been telling in my work. I understood that it was the story of someone else, so I came up with the Name: Alex Diamond.
“At the opening, I was dressed as some kind of pimp. A person that may be the artist behind these works and at first I played the role of Alex Diamond myself. It was pretty obvious for everyone there to see who was behind it all, and at this point I didn’t have the intention to keep it a secret.
“But the name stuck. Alex Diamond. And after that it became a project.
“After several exhibitions, when I started taking the project abroad, Alex Diamond and me started to separate. I wasn’t dressing up anymore when presenting the work and Diamond became a true fictional character: Genderless and faceless.”
Read the full article on NoNewEnemies.
The brandnew Modart Book #02
Available in our 
