Hans Arkeveld obituary: Body of work drew art into daily life

Hans Arkeveld was renowned Australia-wide as a sculptor, printmaker, painter, draftsman and teacher. His extraordinary draftsmanship of the human body, his inquisitive mind and keen eye for detail brought art and science together through his roughly 60-year association with the school of anatomy and human biology at the University of Western Australia.

As an arts student at Perth Technical College, Hans was introduced to the school by his teacher Nola Farman, and gained permission to draw from its collection of cadavers and fetal forms. Over time he became a fixture there. He undertook formal courses in gross anatomy and embryology that added depth to his knowledge while tutoring medical students in anatomical drawing. He produced and cast anatomical models as teaching aids. Hans’ technical skills and infectious humour were acknowledged as being beneficial for both staff and medical students.

In her Weekend Australian review in June 2004 on a major retrospective of Hans’ work held at Perth’s Central TAFE, Victoria Laurie quoted Hans, “The more I draw from dissections — the muscles and bones — the more you look into it and the more you find. When I saw the foetuses and embryos, I thought they were wonderful. They were the most beautiful things there are, because they’re perfect human beings.”

Hans Morell Arkeveld was born on August 28, 1942 in Scheveningen, part of The Hague in the Netherlands, to father Dirk, a builder and brickmaker by trade, and mother Fokiena (nee Moeske). Hans was the second eldest of four sons. Following six years of war and occupation by nazi Germany, the Dutch government encouraged its citizens to emigrate. The family arrived in Melbourne in September 1952, staying in the Bonegilla migrant camp for six months before moving to Western Australia and staying at Northam migrant camp then on to the Graylands camp before settling in Collie.

Growing up Hans had very little formal education until he discovered the power of art as a way to explore and understand the world around him. He had a year of formal schooling before the family moved to Perth, where he spent a few months in high school. In 1955 Hans worked as a builder’s labourer, then an apprentice beekeeper before enrolling in 1961 at Perth Technical College. In 1966 he achieved a diploma in fine art.

After finishing their studies, Hans and fellow student David Hughes travelled around Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, where they spent six months in the Sepik River province. Hans had long been fascinated with tribal art and as a student made drawings from the WA Museum collections. He saw this art as deeply integrated with daily life and the imagery would frequently occur in his art as metaphors for life’s forces and spiritual powers. On his return in 1968 he completed an associateship in fine art, majoring in sculpture, at the recently established school of art and design at WA Institute of Technology (now Curtin University). Later, Hans enrolled in the institute’s first graduate diploma in art and design. His graduating artwork was based on a recurrent theme of boats and the plight of boat people following the end of the Vietnam war. This was part of his Transmigration series.

In 1981 Hans moved to Hovea with wife Rone Rumble, and children Skye (b.1972) and Emanuel (b.1975). Here he built his final home and studio on the edge of John Forrest National Park.

Apart from his weekly visits to the university and teaching commitments elsewhere, Hans was busy in the production of commissioned artworks and exhibitions with other artists.

He met fellow artist Joan Johnson in 1994 and, following his divorce, they became a couple in 2002. With her home in Nedlands Joan provided a base and support for Hans while he worked at the university. They frequently exhibited in group shows together, including the inaugural Sculpture By The Sea at Cottesloe Beach in 2005. In 2020 she assisted Hans with his retrospective exhibition, Homo Eclectic, at the Mundaring Arts Centre, for which she re-created Hans’ workroom in the anatomy department with its magpie collection that included grinning skulls, tools of trade and scientific instruments.

Working in the UWA school of anatomy over many decades, Hans became its first artist in residence.

Working in the school of anatomy over many decades, Hans became its first artist in residence. Other artists followed in recognition that art and artists play an important non-clinical role in the life and workings of a medical school. Hans’ studio and artworks have become part of UWA’s “100 Treasures”.

In 2000 Hans was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal and elected an honorary fellow. He received the Australian Government’s Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to the arts, and was one of the two artists to be presented with the inaugural lifetime achievement award by Artsource, the peak arts organisation in WA, in 2009.

Hans passed away on June 5 at Brightwater, Onslow Gardens, Subiaco. He is survived by partner Joan, children Skye and Emanuel, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Hans Morell Arkeveld

Artist and teacher

Born: Scheveningen, Netherlands, 1942

Died: Perth, aged 83