BIOGRAPHY



Bernd Nicolaisen (*1959) is a Swiss artist. He calls his remarkable photographic representations a “viewing of layers”. He explores hidden finds from the history of the earth, which he tracks down in seemingly untouched, magical places. What he investigates in collaboration with scientists such as glaciologists, astrophysicists and geologists and abstracts in his work is the interaction and interplay of light in and on materials such as water, ice, stone and wood.

The deep ice blue in the almost 1000-year old glacier ice of Iceland is created by the refraction of light in the oxygen-poor ice that has been purified over hundreds of years (Restlicht, 2015). The wood of the mountain pines in the Sierra Nevada (USA) was ignited several times by lightning in its more than 4000-year lifespan, is now hard as stone and lives on inside the pines (Cycle Wood, 2008). The iron water deep from the earth of the Lower Engadine (CH) together with daylight and oxygen, promotes the formation of invisible microalgae which, through photosynthesis, leave a magical play of colors on stone structures (Iron Water Engadin, 2021).
Nicolaisen combines the 3.5 billion old rock dust from the geological investigations in the Pilbara (AUS) in physical and chemical processes with oxides, silver and gold pigments with local earths and powders to form stratagrams. Connections on glass plates, which, in collaboration with Adam Lowe and Factum Arte, merge into playful objects and look like seas of stars from distant galaxies (Strata of Pilbara, 2019-2021, Documentary).

Nicolaisen started his projects in 2001 with the 8x10“ large format and a twelve-year work on the series of works „Restlicht“ 2004-2016. In 2012 he produced the documentary of the same name and in 2015 published the catalog “Restlicht, Photographs-Tableaux-Lightboxes” for Hatje Cantz. In his abstract natural form conceptions, he works with a variety of media. Using photographs, stratagrams, 3-D prints or objects, a dynamic work is created which, through its playfulness and multi-layered interpretations, reveals the change in nature and approaches to our earth- and lifetime.

Bernd Nicolaisen has shown his work in solo and group exhibitions, including: „Restlicht“, Grossmünster, Zurich (2015), „Restlicht“, Museum Gletschergarten, Lucerne (2016-2017); „Restlicht“, Scheublein + Bak, Zurich (2017); „Black Pearl“, Masterpiece London (2018); „Head of 67P“ and „Chury out of Horizon“, Physics Institute - University of Bern (2018), Photo Basel (2019); Musée jurassien des Arts (2024). His works are represented in collections. In 2021 he was nominated for the Prix Pictet, the world‘s leading price for photography and sustainability.



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