Herakut is the symbiotic name of a German artist duo, consisting of Hera and Akut. If they had to pick a symbol to describe their work, it would be this: trees – two trees with trunks twisted around each other, so tight that you would think they have grown together to one. They are clearly and proudly rooted in a soil called Graffiti, but today have branches that reach and bend beyond the walls of the street. Herakut links the rough and the straightforwardness of their sub-cultural home base with the technique and discipline of the world of Fine Arts. They are gate-crushers – but never forced or planned. Everything they do grows organically. They go by their own creative flow, neither by intention nor by the market.

Herakut’s work ranges from murals to collaged interior design, canvas pieces and sketches to animated short-film, from analogue photography to three-dimensional objects and sculptures. In fact, for Hera and Akut there is no boundary to the illustration of their stories. They focus on the message not the medium. They are storytellers, and have created their own family of characters, their own species. Herakut characters are easily recognizable. With their gestures and expressions they raise questions and try to find answers at the same time. Every one of their stories is a reflection of their reality. Herakut’s characters and their own visual vocabulary are sent out into the world to communicate. Preferably in places, where people do not expect to meet art. They love to speak to everyone, not only a distinct elite group. They love to touch people quietly. And ever since they started working together in 2004, with their walls, solo exhibitions and group shows in galleries, art fairs and online features, they have reached quite a few followers around the world. Exactly this aspect – reaching out and sharing a thought – is what makes art relevant. According to Herakut’s definition.

AFTER THE LAUGHTER – the 2nd book of herakut tells the story behind their stories. It is a hand-made scrapbook with 240 fully collaged pages on which the duo shares the good sides and the bad from the second half of their collaboration years, 2009 to 2011. It is just as personal as all their pieces and that makes it a piece of art in itself.

Hardcover, 240 pages, Format: 21cm x 26cm, Text: Englisch.