Statement
My Heftarchiv/Loose Leaf Archive is the "ground under my feet" while I am on the road. The Heftarchiv/Loose Leaf Archive is a concept, a structure, an attitude towards the serial for my nomadic life. I change places and have little with me as I change. Camera, pens, ink, paper have established themselves as light luggage.
With the work Heftarchiv/Loose Leaf Archive I maintain an archive structure. All that I deal with artistically is archived. Since 1999 I have been creating booklets from a collection of diverse materials. The booklets produced until today form the basic structure of the Heftarchiv/Loose Leaf Archive. A booklet can contain quotes, notes, photos, clippings from magazines and the like. The archive is a personal notation of the time and the topics I deal with. Cross-connections emerge as in a network. The Heftarchiv/Loose Leaf Archive connects on a mental level the various ideas and materials I work with.
As a trace, fleeting moments can be preserved. It is an aspiration of archaeology to gain insight into the history of mankind through its material residues. Knowledge of the past begins in the personal. As an artist, I observe myself how quickly ideas vanish into thin air if I don't write them down immediately.
Today, the techniques of storage are digitally extended; nevertheless, as a human being, it is up to me to decide which of my ideas will or will not be included in my construct of Heftarchiv/Loose Leaf Archive. My biological memory, my stored ideas in the Heftarchiv/Loose Leaf Archive, in notebooks, or the workings of a digital memory need an intention to become lore bearers.
Christiane Fichtner is a conceptual artist, drawer, photographer and initiator of collaborative projects. Born in São Paulo, she describes herself as a nomad, currently living and working in Bremen, Bayreuth, Sharjah/UAE and mobile home.
She holds two Master of Fine Arts degrees in Fashion Design and Fine Arts from the University of the Arts Bremen. With a series of scholarships, teaching assignments and international group and solo exhibitions, she has been a freelance artist since 2005.
The series to be seen here as part of the Heftarchiv/Loose Leaf Archive entitled Then, now and then.... shows single sheets, picked up carriers of lore, which were put into a dialogue.