Featured Photographer: Nils Karlson's Series "Vastness"
This feature by Michael Behlen was originally published in Edition 1 of Analog Forever Magazine
German photographer and social worker Nils Karlson uses the simple technology of pinhole cameras to aid him in his search for the last remaining primordial places of our earth that allow him to feel connected to the world outside of societal constraints. His series Vastness, produced over six weeks in 2018 at the Listhus Residency Program in Iceland, carefully explores the rhythm of the country’s ever-changing natural cycles displayed in the changing of the seasons, as the tides flow in and out, and sudden storms breathe new life into vast areas of the Icelandic wilderness. His series documents just how quickly these changes happen from minute to minute and embodies the eternal argument that time itself is a part of the artistic expression.
According to Nils, “Modern civilization has lost its connection with time, it has become a rare good that needs to be optimized, categorized, cut into tiny pieces, and wasted on things. We want all of our time [to ourselves] and use this time to feed our desire to consume.” He believes that society has forgotten the difference between needs and wants and as such this unbalanced lifestyle has disconnected and alienated us from the nature that surrounds us and by association, we forget that the essence of nature is in fact time itself. After all, since time is deeply intertwined with our consciousness and our perceived role of our status on earth, we should periodically ensure that the frequency of our natural rhythm is in tune with this planet we call our home. Without this “mental checkup,” we lose ourselves in the mundane activities that we pursue, that seem so important at the moment but are quickly forgotten when we take the time to ponder what’s truly important.
Nils’ 6x17 long exposures explore these ideas of disconnectedness by connecting the viewer and himself with the steady heartbeat of the barren and minimalist landscapes of the Icelandic wilderness. His images chronicling his time there aren’t simply photographs, but meditations on silence and serenity. Nils shared with us how his art has become a meditative practice: “In times as complex and confusing as these days, we have to take a step back to observe the world, close our eyes to form an image in our head that our eyes can not see, and breathe out during a long exposure. The pinhole camera can become a means of my meditation which allows me to enjoy this brief state of silence to clear my mind. Because from this state of clarity, I can create an empty space that is required for me to gain new perspectives, sights, and ideas.”
Though Nils reflections on the art of photography and it’s positive effects on his mental health are enlightening, it took him more than 40+ years to reach this destination. Growing up in a suburb of Düsseldorf, a city in West Germany which used to be famous for its punk and art scene, Nils was surrounded by a gentrified community that had “tons of money and little compassion.” As a result, the things he was most passionate about: animals, nature, and daydreaming, were not perceived as acceptable attributes for an easily distracted young man to have in the early 1980s. It was during this time that Nils spent a lot of time by himself drawing, an activity that allowed him to focus by concentrating on the small intricate details that slowly came together to create the scenes from his mind. This was much to the dismay of his parents and teachers, who fell into despair attempting to deal with his ADHD induced vivid imagination and intensive daydreaming.
At the age of 12, with the support of his parents, Nils found the second creative outlet that allowed him to focus on whats in front of him: the drums. In 1995, after he graduated from primary school, he went on to study drums at the Drummer’s Institute in Düsseldorf and sound engineering in Cologne where he began to master the art of dramaturgy - the theory, and practice of dramatic composition. Looking back on this now, Nils says, “learning how to edit sound was very beneficial in terms of getting a feel for dramaturgy – especially a sense of time and rhythm, which is crucial for any sound-based arts, and even photography! Both creative outlets are based on time, just in different manners. This idea of using time has been apart of my artist expression since the beginning and has become the center of my artistic attention.”
With Nils’ background in the study of time signatures, the craft of photography seemed like a natural progression from the sound-based arts. In 2014, Almost 28 years after he discovered his passion for music, he found a new love in capturing landscapes on analog film. After picking up a Minolta X-700 and some slide film to try out the hobby, he was hooked! He recalls the feeling of shooting film for the first time with intent, “Back then I was not aware what was so special about it, but it gave me quite a rush.” Fast forward 5 years and Nils has accomplished a lot in a short amount of time, and has progressed from a hobbyist photographer to a widely known pinhole and landscape artist. He shared with us about becoming an artist “[photography] might have been the decisive spark. From there, it evolved. Just like the tides, sometimes it is more pronounced, other times more muted. But the spark is always around, even if I can't see or feel it. So… I didn’t want to be an artist but just became one.”
Nils has now amassed an impressive number of achievements including releasing two sold-out monographs, Eyes Like Slumber and Earth Stands Still in 2017 and 2016 respectively, while having solo exhibitions at Blo Atelier in Berlin during Analog Now Photo Weekend in 2019, and a showing of his work at a show entitled Horizons Dissolved in the UK with The Kickplate Project in 2018. He has also completed two artist residencies, including a 2017 residency at Revela*T Festival in Spain. If this wasn’t enough, Nils work has gained exposure by being published in Photo Klassik Issue 2 in 2019 and plans to release his newest monograph This Might Be The Last Time You'll See The Sun in 2020. We are looking forward to what Nils has in store for us in the coming years, as he is an artist to keep your eyes on! Connect with Nils Karlson on his Website and Instagram!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Behlen is an instant film addict and the founder and publisher of Analog Forever Magazine. For the last 6 years, Behlen has become an obsessive community organizer in the film photography world, including launching the independent publishing projects PRYME Magazine and PRYME Editions, two enterprises dedicated to the art of instant film. Through these endeavors, he has featured and published 200+ artists from around the globe via his print and online publications.
He has self-published two Polaroid photobooks -“Searching for Stillness, Vol. 1” and “I Was a Pioneer,” literally a boxed set of his instant film work. His latest book, Searching for Stillness Vol II was published in 2020 by Static Age. He has been published, been interviewed, and been reviewed in a quantity of magazines and online publications, from F-Stop and Blur Magazine to the Analog Talk Podcast. He loves the magic sensuality of instant film: its saturated, surreal colors; the unpredictability of the medium; it’s addictive qualities as you watch it develop. He spends his time shooting instant film and backpacking in the California wilderness, usually a combination of the two.
Connect with Michael Behlen on his Website and on Instagram!
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