„The photographs of Heiko Tiemann are eminently silent.

The observation of the photographer by his subjects takes the form of a kind of meditation, the pursuit of a certain

compliance that needs no words. The children seem both intrigued by the interest that they provoke, and determined

to react with all the presence they are capable of, that is to say a presence full of modesty, of hesitations, of a need for sympathy, or of defiance. The photographer reinforces their positioning in space by the rigour of stable compositions, by architectural elements, by the objects which surround them and which seem to support them – because here it is „The photographs of Heiko Tiemann are eminently silent.

The observation of the photographer by his subjects takes the form of a kind of meditation, the pursuit of a certain

compliance that needs no words. The children seem both intrigued by the interest that they provoke, and determined

to react with all the presence they are capable of, that is to say a presence full of modesty, of hesitations, of a need for sympathy, or of defiance. The photographer reinforces their positioning in space by the rigour of stable compositions, sympathy, or of defiance. The photographer reinforces their positioning in space by the rigour of stable compositions, by architectural elements, by the objects which surround them and which seem to support them – because here it is a question of fragility, and it is along this fine line that the photographer positions himself. Fragility in the decision to open oneself to the scrutiny of others, fragility in the link between he who lets himself be seen and he who looks, fragility implied in the photographic act. The images reproduce at one and the same time the quantity of precautions andthe accumulation of uncertainties that surround these children, in a captivating metaphor on their situation, faced with life.“


Christian Maccotta, artistic director of Boutographies - Rencontres de la Photographie, Montpellier/France

In Heiko Tiemann's work the determining element is the connection between the mediumistic units of photography and the uncanny. It is no coincidence that familiar friends, i.e. things that surround us or surrounded us and which we consider familiar often have the connection with the absurd and strangenness in his photographs. All at once the everyday seems to us to be odd and strange by being transformed into a photo. In this context strange is an appropriate term to describe that thickening of the atmosphere that Tiemann is trying to achieve in his work. To aim for an openness with regard to possible interpretations with at the same time an intense, almost unpleasent presence. This interplay between openness and the picture`s own independent strength is the connecting point where an image reaches its greatest animation because it builds up an intense relationship with the observers imagination. On closer examination of such pictures it hits us like a shock. How can something so mundane give off such a threatening appearance? In addition to this, his subjects cannot be classified and are not specific. Individual characters of course go in aspecific direction, but he led this direction dissappear into the void quite consciously. Nothing is then clear any more and the observer loses his sense of security. These places only attain their uniqueness by the shifted juxtapositions within the area of pictures. I would like to describe these shifted characters as questions within a picture. If at first glance you think that it is not important where the pictures came from, just the opposite is the case. It is only by filtering out the atmosphere of a quite specific environment that the artist can position the characters precisely and let this flow in subliminally. It is only by intermingling the characters that define the picture and thus also opposing tendencies that a double of reality arises with the picture, which is also neither clear or uncomplicated. The picture is, compared with reality, extremely reduced and denser and can therefore align its strength in certain ways without forfeiting its honesty. Heiko Tiemann's work is best described as a process. A process during which always reaching an intensity, a depth of imagination plays a great part. The more a picture manages to entangle the observer in a network of questions, suppositions and fears, the more it fullfills the process of self-reflection.

Dr. Barbara Honrath, coordinator fine art, Goethe Institut, Munich