Biography 011

Christiane Fichtner - Biography

Christiane Fichtner was born on 25 May 1974 in Osnabrück, Germany. She is the second daughter of Gesine Kirnich-Fichtner and Kai-Uwe Fichtner. Her father is a teacher of landscape architecture at the local university of applied sciences while her mother worked as a notary until she gave birth to their first daughter, Olivia, who has severe handicaps. Even at an early age, Christiane took care of her older sister with devotion. She was a good pupil in school, but her quietness made her somewhat of an outsider. In 1993, she graduated from secondary school. She decided to study French at a language school in Besançon, France, for several months. After that, she decided to work as a volunteer for the SOS Children's Village Abomey Calavi in Benin for one year (freiwilliges soziales Jahr) but had to return to Germany because she became ill with malaria. Christiane moved back in with her family. She worked in her favorite café and as an assistant in a florist shop. Choosing an occupation was difficult, so after her parents suggested she should go to the University of Münster to learn cultural studies, she did in 1995. Although she usually missed her family dearly when she was abroad, she rarely felt homesick while at the University. She shared an apartment with other women students, and she soon realized that she is attracted to women. She struggled with this at first, and it took some time before she could finally face this realization. She did not tell her family right away. Then, while working as a trainee in a local theater, she met a prop woman, Bianca Lech, and they fell in love. Christiane flourished in the freethinking world of the theater and started neglecting her studies. She auditioned for several drama schools, but with no success. While on holiday in the Netherlands, Bianca, who is six years older than Christiane, bought a houseboat in Amsterdam from her inheritance. Bianca quit her job at the theater and begged Christiane to quit her studies because she did not like studying much to begin with. However, Christiane stayed on one more semester in Münster in order to complete the first part of her studies (Vordiplom). It was then she told her parents about her relationship with Bianca and her plan to quit studying and move to the Netherlands. Her parents were a little taken aback, but they respected Christiane's decision. However, they said they would no longer support her financially. In the spring of 1999, Christiane moved to Amsterdam to live with Bianca on her houseboat. Bianca had already started her own business at home making pottery and hand-painted postcards. Christiane documented her move to Amsterdam and the first few months living on the houseboat for her family in a video diary called "zu b in a" (to b in a). A friend of Bianca's, a photographer named Bert Duisenberg, persuaded Christiane to show her video as part of his exhibit "Part 8" at Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam. During this time, Christiane started volunteering as a guard in various cultural centers and worked in the museum shop of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. She also continued to make documentary biographical videos that primarily focus on her life, her partner and her family, such as "neuer hund" (new dog), from 2000, and "b in zee", from 2001. In the summer of 2002, Christiane and her sister Olivia took a road trip to Greece in a Volkswagen bus. The video "o c ellada" and the sound collage "oliviaolio" were made during this time. Both works were shown in the group exhibit "Summer Exhibition 2003" in the Art Affairs gallery in Amsterdam. It was not before long that she had her first one-person exhibit: "c" at Galerie Fons Welters, Playstation, Amsterdam. Christiane and Bianca were married on 1 April 2004. Bianca works as a prop woman at the Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam. Soon after they were married, the couple moved into a house in Haarlem. They still use the houseboat as an atelier and private gallery. In 2005 Christiane did live video performances in two productions by the theater group Wederzijds. Her current project is an extensive video piece about her parents.

 

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