Boat No. I

About Bettina Flitner

Poetic passages Bettina Flitner’s series “Boatpeople” put a unique object centre stage: a traditional Burmese boat. The photographer bought the wooden fishing boat at Inle Lake, situated on a plateau high in the Shan Hills along the Chinese border, and transported it to Cologne, where it sits on the Rhine. Filtner photographs a broad range of personalities and groups aboard the craft –

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Poetic passages

Bettina Flitner’s series “Boatpeople” put a unique object centre stage: a traditional Burmese boat. The photographer bought the wooden fishing boat at Inle Lake, situated on a plateau high in the Shan Hills along the Chinese border, and transported it to Cologne, where it sits on the Rhine. Filtner photographs a broad range of personalities and groups aboard the craft – including managers, nuns, and transvestites – creating a poetic, calming and humorous procession. The people appear to be on a journey of discovery, moving along the current of life. Self-aware and in distinctive poses, they are the lead actors in theatrical arrangements. We curiously and affectionately speculate about the people’s identities, and we sense the photographer’s joy in telling their stories.

Flitner draws cleverly from the genres of film and photography for her works. She uses her experience as an editor and director to ensure these remarkable projects produce powerful narrative moments. What begins as an idea becomes, through image composition, props, and the choice of distinctive subjects, a harmonious work of art.

Christina Wendenburg

VITA

1961	Born in Cologne, Germany
	Editor at WDR, Germany
1986-1992	Studied at Deutschen Film- und Fernsehakademie, Berlin, Germany
1989-present	Professional Photographer