Klaus Thymann

Klaus Thymann Biography

Klaus Thymann is a Danish explorer, scientist, fellow at The Explorers Club, fellow at the Royal Geographical Society, multi award-winning photographer, filmmaker and creator. He has developed an original viewpoint utilising a cross-disciplinary skillset that combines journalism, image making, mapping, documentary, and exploration with a focus on contemporary issues and the climate emergency. Thymann has been featured by New Scientist, National Geographic, BBC, Wired and more. He is on the Expert Roster at UNESCO – UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. 

At age fourteen Thymann got his start by photographing tourists in Copenhagen for the Canal Tour and began working for publications as a writer and photographer during his teenage years. In 1996 he was the youngest ever winner of the Scandinavian Kodak Gold Award and in 2013 he won the Sony World Photography Award, many other awards have followed. He is a Hasselblad Ambassador.

His artwork is several permanent collections incl. MoMA (SF), he has been exhibited at Design Museum Denmark, Horniman Museum London, Institute of Contemporary Art London, Natural History Museum Vienna, Museum of Climate Change Hong Kong, and Museum of Modern Art Stockholm. His practice has been supported by the Queen of Denmark, Arts Council England, the Danish Arts Foundation, and the Swiss Environmental Ministry among others.

Thymann’s passion for the environment and arts led him to undertake pro bono work and serve on the board of organizations including The Design and Artists Copyright Society, UNICEF, Extinction Rebellion and Red Cross. Thymann has guest lectured at Oxford University, The Photographers' Gallery, Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design, Hong Kong University University of the Arts London.

The visual artist whose work employs lens-based media informed by concepts including mapping, narration, exploration and science. In particular, the idea of mapping and geography appears frequently in his body of work, not only in his visual arts output but in the form of new art practices, primarily involving digital technology. He frequenstly use intervals as a motif embed storylines and narratives that form when visuals are or overlaid using the prism of time. Throughout his practice, Thymann reveals a deeply held interest in the act of exploring – both in a physical sense and in a more conceptual manner; one of seeking out new practices and experimenting with new techniques and approaches

Mapping goes hand in hand with exploration, he is an experienced mountaineer, frequently summiting oxygen deprived peeks, as well as a technical diver capable of navigating in deep waters, below ice, and cave diving. Over the past two decades he has worked in conflict zones and led more than 50 expeditions to extreme environments across six continents and into four of the planet’s oceans. Thymann has made discoveries including finding corals in Danish waters, pre-historic bones deep inside a submerged Mexican cave system, and an unexplored manatee habitat in the Yucatan. His teamwork and innovation have led to partnerships with NASA, the UN, and the Danish Technical University, yielding new methods and inventions.

In 2008, Klaus Thymann founded Project Pressure to visualize the climate crisis, the charity uses art as a positive touch-point to inspire action and behavioural change. Through Project Pressure he collaborates with world-renowned artists to create and exhibit provocative work that inspires climate action and pioneering techniques and collaborations with organizations like the World Glacier Monitoring Service, becoming an official contributor to the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers. 

Thymann created "VOICES FOR THE FUTURE," an art-intervention on the UN building in New York, showcasing the urgent need for climate action. This installation featured an iceberg and the voices of youth advocates like Greta Thunberg, all curated by Thymann and underscored by Brian Eno’s music.

Artworks by Klaus Thymann

Artworks Gallery

Illimani, Bolivia
Illimani, Bolivia (2013)

Klaus Thymann

Speke, Uganda
Speke, Uganda (2012)

Klaus Thymann

Eqalorutsit Greenland
Eqalorutsit Greenland (2015)

Klaus Thymann

Fox, New Zealand
Fox, New Zealand (2015)

Klaus Thymann

Pallin, Sweden
Pallin, Sweden (2013)

Klaus Thymann

Cotopaxi, Ecuador
Cotopaxi, Ecuador (2009)

Klaus Thymann