Nicolai Howalt is a Danish artist whose photographic work spans documentary, conceptual, and installation modes. He is interested in duality, connections and relationships, and while death is an aspect of his work, he sees it as a part of an investigation of life and its fragility. He draws inspiration from a line by T.S. Eliot, “The end is where we start from.” Howalt’s work is marked by the absence of the decisive moment, focusing instead on the heartless quietness of the anticipation and/or aftermath of a situation, devoid of any narrative cues. He has a longstanding collaboration with artist Trine Søndergaard, with whom he explores concepts of cultural heritage, transitions, evolution, spaces of limbo and the continuum of life and time.
The artist was born in 1970 in Copenhagen and graduated from Denmark’s prestigious Photographic Art School Fatamorgana in 1992. He has received a series of grants from the Hasselblad Foundation, The Danish Ministry of Culture, The Danish Arts Foundation and The Danish Arts Council.
About ‘N+T ‘:
N+T is a photographic series by Trine Søndergaard and Nicolai Howalt. The work was made during the first years of their relationship. The images represent life as they felt and experienced it. Their aim was to work without censorship and to make images of situations, details and moments that are not normally photographed or represented in a family album.
