Happy Sad Places – Interview with Paul Hiller

Can you tell us a bit about how you became a photographer? And tell us something about your pictures.

My passion for photography began at grammar school. Here I had a black and white photo lab at my disposal, which I always enjoyed using. After graduating from high school, I trained as a photo media lab technician in a photo lab. In this lab, I was able to try out all analog and digital techniques in addition to my work. I learned a lot there, from film development (E-6, C-41, SW, SCALA) to photo prints (RA4, Lambda, Frontier, Giclée printing) and laminating the finished images for exhibitions. The exchange with photographers and artists who were customers there also had a strong influence on me. It was also in this lab that I met my professor, with whom I went on to study Fine Art / New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts.

I graduated from the academy in 2014 and have been working as a photographer and artist ever since. I have my studio in Munich, where I also live. However, my photos are taken all over the world. For my photo book “HappySad Souvenirs”, for example, I traveled through many countries in Asia (China, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore) over a period of two years. After that, I concentrated more on places in Europe: France, Portugal, Italy, Austria and Germany. In 2022, I went on an exciting road trip through the southwest of the USA. My last photo trip in March/April took me to South Korea.

Photo: Paul Hiller

Please tell us more about your pictures. What is your special interest? How do you choose the colors, composition, themes etc.? 

I am interested in people’s “artificial places of longing” - I include constructed places that have the task of positively influencing people’s everyday lives. This is very clear in amusement parks, for example. But it can also simply be a subway station painted pink or a picnic area in a national park. The important thing for me is that the place radiates a certain absurdity through its architecture and colorfulness.

My pictures are taken with an analog Hasselblad on film. The camera has a square image format and I almost exclusively use 400 negative film. This combination of camera, film and my way of digitizing - with a very old film scanner - gives me a very special aesthetic.

Another characteristic of my pictures is that I often emphasize them in the exhibition context through special presentations. For example, I show my amusement park motifs in colorful light boxes, or even in rotating luminous cubes. For an installation on a traffic island in downtown Munich, I displayed a 5x5 meter photograph of a roller coaster on a billboard high above people’s heads. This shape and size of the display was intended to create a similarly imposing impression as the roller coaster in the amusement park itself.

Photo: Paul Hiller

Where does this interest come from?

The interest in my motifs? Over the years, these have somehow developed of their own accord. I love traveling and always want to take a part of it with me. The search for my motifs sometimes gives me a special view of this world.

The interest in the way I photograph? I believe that an old analog film camera is the best way to celebrate the medium of photography. It’s a bit slower and sometimes frustrating if something does not work out. Nevertheless, I’m still fascinated by the analog, photochemical process, which has its very own look and allows me to create my own visual signature.

What inspires you?

Pastel colors inspire me - in the sky, on the wall, or on the wastepaper basket. But I’m also inspired by comic-like scenes and absurd architecture. I’m also interested in melancholy in places that are supposed to make people happy. Is it possible to feel nostalgic in a futuristic spaceport at an amusement park?

Photo: Paul Hiller

How do you get inspired? And what inspires you the most? Films, books, or magazines? Or what surrounds you?

I have a large collection of photo books by exciting artists. I am very interested in contemporary art and visit many exhibitions. Films and series also give me visual inspiration for my work. I also have a large network of artists and other photographers via my Instagram channel, with whom I exchange ideas and realize projects together.

The @accidentallywesanderson channel is a really exciting Instagram project. It combines photography and film and many people have come together to present their pictures here. This project has already resulted in books and exhibitions all over the world. The last group exhibition where I was able to show my pictures on this topic took place in Tokyo. Another project I can highly recommend is www.subjectivelyobjective.com - a gallery and publishing house from Detroit that brings together contemporary photography from all over the world and offers a platform with exhibitions and photo books.

What are your plans for the rest of the day?

In addition to my job as an artist, I also work as a freelance photographer and photo editor. Today I still have to finish a photo editing job and then maybe I’ll take a spontaneous trip to the Oktoberfest...

What else should we know about you?

Paul Hiller, born 1984 in Görlitz, lives in Munich, trained as a photo media laboratory technician, diploma from the ADBK Munich, freelance photographer & artist, member of the Professional Association of Visual Artists.

Instagram: @paulhiller | Artist’s book "HappySad Souvenirs"