Let's go to the hidden place,
Leave the world behind,
Throw away your label skin,
Breathe,
Wash your eyes,
Wash your thoughts,
Enjoy the warmness of it all...
Would you do it? Could you do it? Addicted's new family member has done it and is doing it.
Addictees, meet Fred Stichnoth - the German-born, Bali-based photographer who relinquished life as a celebrity and fashion photographer in the late nineties, in order to decamp to the East Indies.
Fred entered the world of professional photography in 1987, when he was hired as an assistant to the famous German photographer Walter Schels.
The 1990's saw Fred enjoying success as a portrait photographer, photographing the likes of director Wim Wenders; Thaddeus Ropac in his Austrian castle for Vogue; an exuberant Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders for EMI Records; Pink Floyd in Berlin; and numerous album covers for many artists and bands.
Fred’s portraiture studies the beauty of women and ethnic culture using a unique combination borne out of necessity and unconscious influence. He employs an old fashioned technique whereby a backdrop is used to separate the subject from their surroundings. This juxtaposition is striking when the subject is so obviously separated from their natural environment. He also uses motifs and poses that echo the stylised productions in fashion magazines. The final picture comes together like an ethereal sculpture, caught on photographic paper.
Fred employs an old fashioned technique whereby a backdrop is used to separate the subject from their surroundings.
Sharpen your focus Addictees and check out part one of Fred's stunningly beautiful East Indies photography series.
Young Woman With Marriage Ceremony Headpiece, Sunda Islands
Arty-Fact: “I decided to photograph what surrounded me, not as true documentation, but captured like portraits in a photo studio instead. I didn’t have a photo studio so I started photographing the Legong dancers outside. In order to do that I created a gray background by hanging cloth wherever I was. That's how it all started.“ ~ Fred Stichnoth
Young Woman With Owl Mask, Sunda Islands
Arty-Fact: “The burning mountain, the lake, was the abode of their deities; and certain trees and birds were supposed to have influence over people’s actions and destiny. The locals held wild and exciting festivals to pacify these deities or demons and believed that they could be changed by them into animals – either during life or after death.” ~ Fred Stichnoth
Young Woman, New Guinea
Arty-Fact: Stichnoth’s portraiture studies the beauty of women and ethnic culture using a unique combination borne out of necessity and unconscious influence. He employs an old fashioned technique whereby a backdrop is used to separate the subject from their surroundings. This juxtaposition is striking when the subject is so obviously separated from their natural environment. He also uses motifs and poses that echo the stylised productions in fashion magazines. The final picture comes together like an ethereal sculpture, caught on photographic paper.
Young Woman With Red Ginger Flower, New Guinea
“It’s not easy to achieve this kind of minimalist portraiture. My years as a fashion photographer have been very helpful for me in order to style different sittings. The costumes of indigenous tribes, for instance, are fashion in their own way, and they continue to change and develop. I am touched by the visual richness of different cultures: their beauty, their simplicity, their pride. And I just want to capture that before it disappears.“ ~ Fred Stichnoth
Young Woman With Shell Necklace, New Guinea
Arty-Fact: “As soon as I arrived [in Indonesia] there was no real contact with my previous life in Germany. I was one hundred percent in my new place. After two months in my new home, I began photographing portraits. There was no commercial idea, no customer, no makeup or styling team, no pressure. If something did not work it was my mistake. Without the disturbance of others, I could look for the ultimate photo. It was very exciting!“ ~ Fred Stichnoth
Young Woman With Paradise Birds, New Guinea
Arty-Fact: “I wanted to inspire people with these pictures. Show them something beautiful of a fast disappearing world. What does progress mean for indigenous people? We bring them diseases, prohibit their faith, we give them underwear, subdue them, steal their land and natural resources, destroy ancient cultures and habitats in the shortest possible time. I am entering a world that is getting lost more and more every day. I just want us to remember them before it is all gone.” ~ Fred Stichnoth
Young Woman With Bag, New Guinea
Arty-Fact: “Around 1860 photographers began using things like a simple bed sheet to create a neutral background. I followed this old idea so as not to disturb or detract from the main focus of the image.” ~ Fred Stichnoth
Young Woman With Falcon Feather Bag, New Guinea
Arty-Fact: It can take Fred over eight weeks to prepare a shoot, earning the trust of tribes, understanding their customs and sourcing the correct motifs, sometimes creating headdresses himself guided by the keepers of tradition in each remote village he visits.
Young Woman With Coconut Rope, New Guinea
Arty-Fact: It was a dream come true when Fred located from his native Germany to the Indonesian Island of Bali. From here he has been able to explore some of the remotest areas in the East Indies and the tribes that call these places home. A home that is fast disappearing, along with their customs, legends, ceremony and regalia.
Young Woman With Hornbill Headdress, New Guinea
Arty-Fact: Stichnoth studied photography using large format cameras as an assistant to German portrait artist, Walter Schels. After a star-studded career photographing the likes of Chrissy Hynde, Wim Wenders, Pink Floyd and Nina Hagen, as well as directing high fashion shoots for European magazines, the next obvious step was a move to Paris. But overwhelming him was a longing for peace and nature. “I reached a point where I knew I could not expand unless I moved permanently to one of the fashion capitals. I had fallen in love with fashion photography but I realised I also had a wish to create my own visions, far away from commerical work.“ ~ Fred Stichnoth
Young Woman With Feather Headpiece, New Guinea
Arty-Fact: Growing up, Fred was always drawn to adventure movies set in tropical locations. “I love ancient themes, from Egypt to Indonesia. I’ve spent a long time traveling around the world, being drawn to what is considered taboo.” ~ Fred Stichnoth
Dancing Girl, Borneo
Arty-Fact: “These people are very fond of music and dancing, and it would astonish a European to visit one of their gatherings. Dancing is kept up for hours and is all conducted with much decorum and propriety.” – Fred Stichnoth
Fred Stichnoth
Growing up, Fred Stichnoth was always drawn to adventure movies set in tropical locations. “I love ancient themes, from Egypt to Indonesia. I’ve spent a long time traveling around the world, being drawn to what is considered taboo,” he says. So, it was a dream come true when he located from his native Germany to the Indonesian Island of Bali. From here he has been able to explore some of the remotest areas in the East Indies and the tribes that call these places home. A home that is fast disappearing, along with their customs, legends, ceremony and regalia.
If you’d like to see these tribal goddesses on your wall get in touch with us @ blair@addictedgallery.com or elena@addictedgallery.com
Don’t forget, we have an App that will help you See It On Your Wall
Before we go we'll leave you with this question: "When cheese gets its picture taken what does it say?"
Until the next one...
Blair and El xoxo