Nicolas Karakatsanis

NK is a Belgian photographer and an internationally renowned DOP (Director of Photography). His art work is an extension of the original aesthetic of his films.

Born in Antwerp in 1977, NK studied at Sint-Lukas Brussels. In 2003 at the request of friends of his who were also studying film, he started to work as DOP on their student short film projects. This marks the start of his career as a DOP for film and advertising.

At the same time NK used his talent as a photographer and a DOP for his own personal artistic projects. He worked a lot in the music world, making video clips or taking photos on set. On another level he also produced the album of the rock group, “Drums are for parades” (releasing an EP and a full album on his label, Skeleton Ears) and also helped produce the first album of the group, Hickey Underworld.

From 2004 onwards he worked with the painter Michael Borremans, creating artistic videos.
In 2005, together with his brother, Dimitri, he published the book, “Der Verfall", a graphic overview of the work of the Antwerp artist, Gerard Leysen. In 2006 he made his first feature film, “Small Gods", which he co-produced with his brother, who also directed it. The film was selected for the Venice Film Festival.

He first exhibited his photos with Toon Aerts, at ALICE Gallery in 2007. From 2008 onwards he started publishing his photos on the blog, « The Skeleton Herald ».

In 2012, the Belgian film, Rundskop, directed by Michael Roskam, on which NK collaborated as DOP, was nominated as a contender for the Oscar for the best foreign film.

In 2015 he presented at ALICE Gallery the exhibition "Ways of Seeing - Episode 1", a step closer to a redefinition of the genre. He manages to synthesize the subject of photography, the shooting aesthetic, the resulting object and the staging in the gallery space.

Submitted by ALICE Gallery