Michael Höpfner, Von Ruthok nach Lhamo Latso

Opening: Tue, Mar 10, 19:00
Opening Hours until July 23: open by appointment (registration: office@eikon.at)

Michael Höpfner walks; with his backpack, tent and minimal work utensils, preferably an analog camera and film: “It is the simplest medium―minimalist. I work with a Leica or a Hasselblad. I am interested in direct access, no detours.” During his several months long travels in sparsely populated Tibetan regions, analog photography proved ideal for his purposes because of its independence from electricity. “On every trip, I keep a maximum of 20 rolls of film with me. 750 photos, this must be enough for at least three months. It almost forces me to keep a calm line of vision. In my pictures, I want to convey tranquility.”
The artist understands hiking as liberation from predetermined ways of life and artistic guidelines. The―partly overdrawn―photographs, drawings and written notes can be read as an attempt of situating the human being in nature and as a reflection on the relationship between the two.

A main contribution in the latest issue EIKON #109 is dedicated to the artist.

Michael Höpfner studied Painting and Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and at the Department for Fine Art Photography at the Glasgow School of Art. Currently, the artist is based in Berlin and Vienna, where he teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna together with Martin Guttmann.

Image © Michael Höpfner, Von Ruthok nach Lhamo Latso, Tag 10, Camp, 2020