Czipin Heidi

Heidi Czipin was born in Lower Austria and grew up in the outskirts of Vienna. From 1965-68, she studied Art Education at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, and has devoted herself intensively to photography since 1994. In 1996/97, she was a student at the School for Artistic Photography under Friedl Kubelka. Thanks to her membership if the photography group AD OCULOS (1997-2003), she has participated in lively cultural exchange with Italy, France, Latvia and Ukraine. For further training she attended workshops led by Rupert Larl, Heinz Cibulka, Nick Waplington, Sabine Bitter, Elke Krystufek and Leo Kandl. She is also in close contact with artists in the circle of Carmen Oberst in Hamburg. Heidi Czipin’s photographs have been on display in solo and group exhibitions in Germany, Italy, France, Syria, Latvia, Ukraine and Austria.

Artist Statement
Portrait photography in its unpretentious form is my recurring theme. The desire to trace the interaction between internal state and outward appearance remains consistently strong through the years. The interdependence of these two factors takes place in shifting rhythms; masquerade and deception come (often subconsciously) into play. As a photographer, I only interfere as much as is necessary, but even that adds an additional twist to the moment in which the picture is created. For the subsequent viewer, different interpretations and associations become possible, depending on one’s internal state and experiences. This leads to countless variations in the interplay between the components, which time and again invites me to participate inwardly and thereby remains fascinating. I also pursue a different approach, perhaps to compensate for the restraint which is essential in portrait photography. With the aid of groups of pictures and small series I attempt to tell my own stories. In recent years these increasingly develop through digital imaging. Thoughts about (one’s own) impermanence predominate, accompanied by the playful handling of desires, fantasies and banalities.