Irina Ruppert and I have travelled together three times: to Russia, Turkey and, most recently, Romania... In her view, a photograph has to be the result of a genuine relationship with the individual or group she is looking to portray. The photographer and the subject have to feel safe and at ease... I would describe Irina’s approach to photography as humanism in action. She feels her way into a situation like few other people I know. Irina Ruppert’s photographs are soulful and immediately recognizable. They speak of essence. Even her snapshots will convey a sense of the greater experience within which they were taken, along with a hint of the eternal. Her work is never overloaded, never burdened with detail for detail’s sake. If there are people in the picture, their faces reflect the circumstances of their lives. If landscapes are the motif, the vastness and silence are imbued with an incredible feeling of transcendence. There is no intention to convince or persuade, no desire to make a statement or cause anger. The pictures invite us to day-dream. Sometimes the effect can be metaphysical. As though guided by a mysterious inner compass, Irina almost always travels east – in search of her childhood, I suspect.

Extract from the text At the Mouth of the Danube (published in the Leica Fotografie International) by Christian Schüle