Helge Timmerberg

In the artist's words:

At the age of 17, he decided to become a journalist in an Indian ashram in the Himalayas. According to his own account, an inner voice in the ashram led to his enlightenment and told him:

"Go home. And become a journalist."

After his return, he began a traineeship at the Neue Westfälische Zeitung in Bielefeld in 1972, where he later became local editor. He was transferred from the newspaper to Minden. In 1974, Helge Timmerberg opened the first vegetarian restaurant called "Mandala" in Bielefeld. He then worked for the Braunschweiger Zeitung and Stern. During his time at Stern in Hamburg, he discovered the book Angst und Schrecken in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, whose gonzo journalism blending fact and fiction made a lasting impression on him. Helge Timmerberg then traveled and researched as a journalist for Tempo, Wiener, Playboy and Bunte, for which he wrote his most important reports in a subjective narrative style. He moved his desk to the "Hotel Riviera" in Havana, Cuba, and only kept in touch with the publisher by fax. He was eventually dismissed by Bunte editor-in-chief Franz Josef Wagner and returned to Hamburg.

Timmerberg's working style is based on gonzo journalism and New Journalism. In 2007, he embarked on a trip around the world. He circumnavigated the globe in 80 days, roughly following the route taken by Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne's novel Journey Around the World in 80 Days.

Timmerberg lives in Vienna, Berlin and St. Gallen, and has also lived in Marrakesh for a time.