Skip to content

Bag

Your bag is empty

Article: In the Studio | The Heidies

In the Studio | The Heidies
In the Studio

In the Studio | The Heidies

Meet The Heidies. This Swiss bred, Parisian-based duo work seamlessly together to create a fantastical world through photography. Here we explore their joint artistic practice and learn more about how they capture moments of spontaneity and fragile innocence.

 

TAPPAN

What inspired you to leave Switzerland and settle in Paris?

THE HEIDIES

Caroline: I followed a friend. I was in London for a year to study dance and after a bad injury couldn’t dance anymore. Paris was an opportunity to rebound, to explore something else elsewhere.

Pascaline: I settle to my grandmother’s house at the age of 18 to practice theatre classes in Paris. I went 5 days a week to watch movies, theatre, exhibitions… and I’m here since 25 years!

TAPPAN

What inspired you to begin collaborating in your artistic practices?

THE HEIDIES

Pascaline: I’m very fond of Caroline's work. she is so sensitive, intelligent and delicate. One day she asked me to shoot her dancing. Fusing our universes was very interesting. We decided to explore together.

Caroline: I wanted to say something through my body, dancing. I asked Pascaline if she could take pictures of that performance. Her eyes were so delicate and careful! Feeling that respect and freedom in front of someone is rare…This was our first story. From there we decided to continue to create and explore together.

TAPPAN

How did you conceive of the Heidies as a collaborative artistic endeavor?

THE HEIDIES

Within a defined framework of units of time, place and action, we explore gesture and material to extract a moment of delicate balance.

TAPPAN

And what inspired the name behind it?

THE HEIDIES

Heidi is a little girl who lives with her grandfather in the Swiss montains. Her character belongs to the Swiss cultural heritage. We share in our craft her values: freedom, simplicity and authenticity. And we like the prononciation close to "ideas".

The Heidies says

“THERE ARE NO RULES. WE LET THE ENERGY AND THE MOMENT DECIDE, WHEN TOGETHER IN A PLACE.”

The Heidies
The Heidies

TAPPAN

What part of your art process is most exciting to you?

THE HEIDIES

The moment when shooting, inspiration, "letting go" and action intertwine into one. And then viewing the images afterwards is always exciting.

TAPPAN

Where do you find inspiration in daily life and your environment?

THE HEIDIES

Caroline: Inspiration comes from a desire to be together and create together. As Pascaline says, it starts at first from a small and subtle exchange. We find inspiration while shooting as well, as we are together and in the place and let go.

Pascaline: We are very close friends. We talk every day. A word, an image, a sensation, even a smell, can initiate new artistic desires.

TAPPAN

Tell us about the process behind your shared practice and this new body of work specifically?

THE HEIDIES

There’s no rules. We let the energy and the moment decide, when together in a place. Pascaline shoots and Caroline performs, but we can also perform together. The final selection is made together and Pascaline works on the pictures.

The Heidies

TAPPAN

WHow are your individual practices reflected in The Heidies?

THE HEIDIES

Even if we each have our own part - Pascaline takes the pictures and works on the post production; Caroline moves and often selects the cloths for a shoot - the creation comes through a constant exchange. We evolve in a symbiosis.

TAPPAN

Who are some contemporaries or figures in art history who have inspired your work?

THE HEIDIES

We have many common inspirations: Francesca Woodman, Bill Viola, Helena Almeida, Mark Borthwick, Viviane Sassen, Yves Klein, Nikki de St Phalle.




Read more

In the Studio | Sara Marlowe Hall
In the Studio

In the Studio | Sara Marlowe Hall

Welcome to the studio of Sara Marlowe Hall, a Los Angeles based artist whose works of art combine aspects of painting and sculpture to achieve unique textures.   TAPPAN Tell us about yourself ...

Read more
Jihan Zencirli | Collector Profile
Profiles

Jihan Zencirli | Collector Profile

Weave your way up the narrow roads of Laurel Canyon to find yourself in the light-filled home of artist Jihan Zencirli, previously known as GERONIMO. Most well-known for her playful balloon an...

Read more