About

I work with photography, portraiture and research.

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Most of my projects develop over several years. I am interested in people, relationships and stories that are often overlooked. Rather than illustrating an idea, I use photography to try and understand the people I work with and the worlds they move within.

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Portraiture is important to me. I see a portrait as a meeting rather than simply a picture of a person. Building trust over time is an important part of my process.

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My ongoing project 'Conversations on Sex and Work' combines photography, interviews and research. Developed in close collaboration with sex workers, it explores stigma, human rights and the consequences of the Nordic model by placing participants' own experiences at the centre.

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Alongside this project, I have spent many years photographing my daughter. In recent years, this work has focused on the temporary artworks she creates through makeup and style. Photography allows these fleeting works to remain after they have disappeared, while also documenting our changing relationship over time. this work is called 'In the making'.

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In 2025 I was diagnosed with autism. The diagnosis gave me a new way of understanding my own artistic process and led me to work with 'The Monotropic Pull'. Through analogue photography and darkroom work, I explore abstraction, attention and perception. Although this project is very different from my documentary work, it asks many of the same questions in a different way.

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I am available for exhibitions, artist talks, lectures, editorial collaborations,documentary photography and portrait commissions.

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I am a member of FFF – Forbundet Frie Fotografer (The Norwegian Association of Fine Art Photographers).

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Contact

Email
nilesimari@gmail.com

Phone
+47 466 32 054

Instagram
@unbearablelightness

Support my work
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/iselinkristiansen