Artist: Nicolai Howalt

Howalt's barren landscapes really appeal to me and my search for places to be alone. I really enjoy her series "borders" where she explores man-made borders throughout Denmark, and how she speaks of them being more mental than real. Borders would be a good thing for me to explore as well, but in a social context.

biography

Quotes:

"Looking at a map of the world with its many frontiers it is obvious that someone drew the lines. Separated the territories. Created new nations, and erased others. Borders do not create themselves. And they are rarely permanent. People talk about natural borders, but they are often equally arbitrary. Take Kongeåen – the river in Jutland that used to form the border between Denmark and Germany. It was natural, but not natural after all. The river is still there, but the border has moved. 
      The word border leaves an impression of something tangible and well defined. But reality is quite different. Standing on a border it seems more mental than real. There are no lines on the ground, and the landscape is identical for miles on either side. The water that separates countries is the same colour. The clouds the same grey."
- Gitte Broeng, from artist statement about Howalt's series "borders"

"The images represent a humanization of nature: Trees figure as human symbols in a series of ”tree portraits” together with larger panoramic landscapes in monumental formats. In this way a suspense is created between immense, impenetrable space and singular, isolated trees."

- From artist statement for "tree zone", a collaboration between Trine Søndergaard & Nicolai Howalt

interview

artist's website

Gallery 1
Gallery 2