In the summer of 2018 Jim Nickelson was awarded an artist residency at the Baer Art Center on the northern coast of Iceland. Over the course of two weeks, he was able to circle the entire island photographing a wide variety of locations.
In any landscape, Jim seeks out the edges between sky and land and sea, as well as minimalist compositions that border on the abstract. Iceland’s combination of mountains, sea, sky, glaciers, and the like provided ample raw material for such compositions.
His trip to Iceland last summer was also extremely influential on the direction of his work overall especially in response to climate change. The experience inspired him to further research the effects of climate change on the global environment and to consider what he can do as a citizen and an artist to help deal with the ongoing crisis. In response, he has refocused his photography to concentrate on climate-change inspired projects and is taking a more activist role with his projects.