ABOUT

Mikko Gaestel (b. 1982) is a visual artist, filmmaker, and photographer based in Berlin and Munich. He studied Fine Art and Media at the University of the Arts Berlin, where he earned a Meisterschüler degree, and also pursued Fine Art at the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík.

Working at the intersection of video, photography, 3D animation, and documentary film, Gaestel’s practice explores hybrid forms of visual storytelling and performance.

His feature-length documentary debut, The Great Fortune, received the Grand Prize at the Belgrade International Film Festival in 2016. In 2021, his collaborative video performance ARK1, created with choreographer Colette Sadler, premiered at Tanz im August in Berlin.

Since 2010, Gaestel has also contributed to numerous international theatre productions as a video artist and scenographer, working with acclaimed companies and directors such as Rimini Protokoll and Lola Arias.

EXHIBITIONS / SCREENINGS

→ click here for a list of exhibitions and film screenings

VIDEO & STAGE FOR THEATRE

Work as video artist for international theatre productions:

Salzburger Festspiele, Radialsystem Berlin, Ruhrtriennale, Schauspielhaus Bochum, Theater Rotterdam, Thalia Theater Hamburg, Tanz Im August International Dance Festival Berlin, Maxim Gorki Theater, Kaaitheater Brussels, Théâtre Vidy Lausanne, Staatstheater Hannover, Theaterformen Festival, Sophiensaele Berlin, Tramway Glasgow, Festival TransAmériques Montréal, Kaserne Basel, Lugano Inscena-Lac, Zürcher Theaterspektakel, Festival D’Avignon, Münchner Kammerspiele, Berliner Festspiele, Donaufestival Krems, FOG Triennale Milano Performing Arts, Temporada Alta Girona, SPRING Utrecht, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Schauspielhaus Zürich, Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, Southbank Centre London, Gessnerallee Zürich, Kaserne Basel, Theater Bremen, Archa Theatre Prague, Onassis Cultural Centre Athens, Goethe Institute Kolkata India, Hebbel am Ufer Berlin, National Theatre Taipei

→ click here for complete list of theatre work

STAGE / MUSEUM WORK

Opening Ceremony 50th Olympic Anniversary
(Idea & concept, editing and 3D animation)
Opening ceremony / performances by Pollyester
Olympiahalle München 2022

»Club der Jubilare«
(Idea and realisation in touch designer)
Generative live visualisation of movement extracted from large floor sensor
Theatron Olympiapark München 2022

»Being Human« – Christopher Kulendran Thomas
(Lighting design, video installation & technical direction)
VAC Foundation Venice Biennale 2019, Schinkel Pavillon Berlin 2019, de Young Museum San Francisco 2020, ICA London 2022, KW Berlin 2022, Kunsthalle Zürich 2023, Singapore Art Museum 2023, MoMA New York 2025

»The Finesse« – Christopher Kulendran Thomas
(Lighting design, video installation & technical direction)
ICA London 2022, KW Berlin 2022, Kunsthalle Zürich 2023, K21 Düsseldorf 2025, Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney 2025

»O Ciclo Anual no Rio Tiquié«
(Idea & concept, editing, compositing and animation)
Large scale projection covering the facade of the castle of Berlin 2019

FILMS

Selected film projects as director or cinematographer:

»Macucu«
Documentary film Colombia/Germany 2021
Co-director, cinematographer

»O Ciclo Anual no Rio Tiquié«
Documentary film Brasil/Germany 2021
Co-director

»Far Away from Russia«
Short film 2021
Director of photography, co-screenplay writer

»Neda«
Short film 2017
Director of photography

»The Great Fortune«
Documentary film Germany 2016
Co-director, cinematographer
Winner of the grand prize at Belgrade International Documentary Festival 2016

»Nackte Angst«
Music video 2014
Director, cinematographer

»Atlas Cinema«
Experimental documentary film, Morocco 2013
Director of photography

PHOTOGRAPHY

Architecture, portrait, fashion, documentary and product photography.

Pictures made for / have appeared in:
Spex, Rhizome, DIS Magazine, Bullett Magazine, NZZ, TAZ, Tagesspiegel, Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf, Nero Magazine, Sophiensaele, Center for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, Sleek Magazine, Rimini Protokoll, Gessnerallee Zürich, Galerie Carlier Gebauer, Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin, Future Gallery, Import Projects, Jackmode, Curt, Kotelett, Delinear, Umagazine, Dazed Digital and others.

→ click here for photograhpy portfolio

TEACHING / WORKSHOPS

	»Soft Edges« course at University of the Arts Berlin 2020 »Campustriennale / Schöner Arbeiten« workshop Ruhrtriennale 2017 with Dominic Huber »In Sync« course at University of the Arts Berlin 2016

CONTACT

→ click here