Fossil

(2022-ongoing)

Awards/Publications etc.

• TIME TOP 10 Photos of 2023

• TIME TOP 100 Photos of 2023

• The Guardian Pictures of the Year

• 3. Place “Wo blüht das Neue?” - Hoepfner-Stiftung

• Shortlisted 8. Martha Hoepffner Preis - Gesellschaft für Fotografie e.V

• Published in TIME Magazine, The Guardian, Der Freitag, Das UND Magazine

• Exhibited in Pinakothek der Moderne - München, Stadtmuseum Taunus, IHK Karlsruhe

Description

Our society finds itself in a vacuum of disagreement, with the poles of climate change, climate activism and the economic impact driving them further apart. 

Questions such as "Does climate change exist?" "Who is to blame for climate change?", "What form of climate activism is appropriate?" or "Will I soon no longer even be allowed to drive a car?"

are just a small selection of the hotly debated topics at the moment. Society is struggling to find a common ground, but the divide is deepening and time is running out.

A look back at the year 2022 illustrates the drastic effects: Germany recorded an unusual 20 degrees Celsius in parts of the country on 31 December, while a third of Pakistan was hit by floods. In Rheinland-Pfalz and Nordrhein-Westfalen, a flood of the century claimed 180 lives and caused damage totalling around 30 billion euros. In the same year, 660,000 hectares of forest burned down in Europe. Nevertheless, the government is defending the profit interests of large concerns and praising itself for bringing forward the coal phase-out to 2030, even though this will make no real contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. The responsibility is being shifted onto the citizens, who are then arguing about recuperation, plastic bag bans and the volume of wind turbines, among other things.

In the photo series with the working title 'Fossil - Fight for Climate Justice', photographer Nico Knoll takes a close look at the highly topical issue of climate justice and the growing activism in favour of change. In view of the increasing number of climate disasters and a political approach to climate protection that is often perceived as insufficient, the calls for change are becoming ever louder.

The focus of the series is to highlight the roots of the environmental problem and portray those who stand against the continued extraction of fossil fuels and the expansion of new large-scale climate-damaging projects. This focus on the directness of activism, not just taking to the streets but getting to the source of the problem, is intended to emphasise that the series does not cover the entire spectrum of climate protest, but concentrates specifically on direct action.

Speciesism*

(2021-ongoing)

The photographer Nico Knoll documents in his ongoing work on speciesism the disturbed relationship between humans and animals.

His photography series reveals the brutal realities of bullfighting in France and Spain, as well as the captivity of animals in zoos across Europe. Through poignant images, he raises questions about the ethical aspects of animal captivity and exploitation in the entertainment industry.

*Speciesism is a misguided belief that one species is more important than another. This toxic mindset is deeply ingrained in our society, and it results in all kinds of animal exploitation.

Serial Portrait ‘Homeland’

For my serial portrait ‘Homeland’, I photographed people on the countryside of my hometown. I myself am born and raised in a suburb of Munich. Because most of my friends lived on the countryside, I was spending a lot of time there. Since I moved away, I never really revisited the countryside and lost my connection to my homeland there. For this series, I drove threw the smallest villages in Bavaria and rediscovered the area and the people there while taking photos of them.

Being tired of Berlin

Awards/Publications etc.

• Winner New Talent Award by Profifoto & Canon

• Exhibited at Pop Up Fair Düsseldorf, Photopia Hamburg, Oberstdorfer Fotogipfel

• Published in PROFIFOTO Magazine, Kaltblutmagazine

Description

Right after I moved to Berlin, I met a lot of motivated young people in a short period of time. Most of them told me about their big dreams of becoming great artists and super successful in what they are doing. I felt a big excitement about their move to Berlin.

After a while I heard more and more, that a lot of them felt tired, disoriented and overwhelmed by the constant input and distraction Berlin is offering. With my 'New Talent Award' winning series 'Being tired of Berlin‘ I wanted to visualize those feelings of being tired and disoriented by hectic cities like Berlin.