Karsten Thormaehlen

The photographer and former creative director studied communication design at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences and then lived in New York City for several years. Karsten Thormaehlen is passionate about photography, editing, and curating. For his sensitive, award-winning portrait series, he visited elderly and ancient people around the world, focusing on the sociocultural phenomena of aging societies in order to challenge what he describes as our generally negative perception of old age. His work has been exhibited in Berlin, London, Munich, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Vienna, and Zurich, and published in numerous illustrated books.

The SILVER HEROES series, which shows athletes of mature age, was nominated for the German Ageing Award in 2013 and inspired the World Health Organization (WHO) to launch its first global campaign against age discrimination.