Radim Dibdiak – A Paparazzo or an Artist?

26th September 2019

You’d better beware of Radim Dibdiak. When he turns up, watch your second chin and also, whose hand you might be holding. Radim always holds his digital reflex camera in his hand and he will shoot you, before you manage to pull yourself together. His artistic licence allows him not to give a damn about formalities like the GDPR, so you can later appear hung at one of his exhibitions or even worse, on his Facebook timeline.

Born in Kyjov, Radim lives in Brno since young age, where he has become an inherent part of the café scene. In 2000, he bought his first digital camera and has never left home without his "third eye" ever since. He shoots the city, people and situations around him; he also works in the studio, though and takes contracts. Each of his photographs undergoes digital postproduction, which gives them his unmistakable handwriting.

Autoportrét Radima Dibdiaka Radim Dibdiak facebook.com/radimdibdiakk

Tram Stop Photo Radim Dibdiak

City boy

We have chosen Radim first of all for his unparalleled collection of city street photos. He takes his career seriously and when he is not in his studio, he is on the patient lookout at one of his favourite café gardens. Most likely you will come across him at Tungsram, Švanda, Milada or now hopefully again at Art cinema. He is on a lookout for the right light, unexpected view angle and mainly epic moments. And his patience pays out, as he regularly manages to capture snaps that could not even be arranged.

Smoke Photo Radim Dibdiak

Chicks in the Studio

Asked about what work he likes the best, he mentions shooting models in the studio. A little more surprisingly, he adds he also likes shooting friends’ kids. They must have the right age, though, when you can capture their innocence, spontaneity and authenticity. Just a few months more and children know, what is happening and hide away, or they make learnt grimaces.

Easy Rider Photo Radim Dibdiak

I Photoshop All My life

Patience and observation talent blend with playfulness in Radim’s work. He studied graphics, so he can help himself with Photoshop, where the picture falls short of perfection. He puts neon colours and visual scratches in contrast with his favourite black and white. Sometimes it is a subtle postproduction, at times, he overtly manipulates the image and there are cases when he goes really wild. If the reality does not fulfil his expectations, he knows the means to let him create his own and completely new reality.

Cumulus Photo Radim Dibdiak

Dibdiak’s Brno

Radim likes to say he is a territorial artist. He cherishes his memories from holidays in Kyjov, where he used to spend summers with his grandparents as a little boy and where he used to meet the legendary photographer and painter Miroslav Tichý. When he needed a break from Brno as an adult, he moved to London for a few test years. It did not work out and he returned bruised and battered. Brno plays the key role in his life maybe for good. He says he has shot it all, however, he lost part of his archive on stolen and forgotten laptops. He has refined his image of the city and its people to a characteristic form, which the public admire. An overall number of 15 solo exhibitions, he opened here, prove that. Check out Radim’s Instagram and if you fall for his work, you can buy yourself one of his photographs here.