nils Karlson

My name is Nils Karlson, and I love dogs.

Though I do not remember the incident, reliable resources confirm I was born 1975 in Düsseldorf / Germany. Now residing in Bochum / Germany, which is awfully far away from the Atlantic Ocean, whose expanse feels like my true soul place. Here I find my mind walking on plains devoid of the dissonant artifacts of human behaviour. On these plains, my mind finds solitude, silence, peace.

My photographic works is based on the quest to create the most quiet representation of my inner self. This process is deeply intertwined with the concept of Bardo, originating from The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Bardo describes an intermediate state, a state of transcendence – originally the state between physical death and rebirth.

To me, we are in a constant state of Bardo – always transcendencing, an existence without beginning or end. Soon I associated this with my love for the vast oceans, wondering about the meaning of the horizon. In many cultures, the horizon used to mark the end of the (known) world – a natural, often even supernatural border. But apparently, the horizon is in constant motion, and no matter how far we sail, we can never reach an end. So how does the perception of life and death change when there is no border, no abyss, no end? The answer which appeals to me the most can be found in The Tibetan Book of the Dead: It is compassion: "I have arrived at the time of death, so now, by means of this death, I will adopt only the attitude of the enlightened state of mind, friendliness and compassion, and attain perfect enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings as limitless as space. With this attitude, at this special time for the sake of all sentient beings, (...) I will act for the good of all beings.“

Yeah, and I love cats, too.