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Nicole Welch
Wildēornes Body | 2017
Wildēornes Body. @ Kandos Museum
Wildēornes (Old English): a land inhabited only by wild animals. Wildēornes Body reflects the inherent loss and uncertainty we now face for the natural environment, while simultaneously being a personal acknowledgement of the artist embracing her mortality and the wolf (lupus) that inhabits her body and world. Swathed in a Victorian 1880s chantilly lace mourning shawl, the artist lay on a large mirror that reflects the sky and the canopy of trees above. Through the symbolism of the mourning shawl and the endurance of holding a pose over time, Welch aims to reveal the symbiotic relationship humans have with the natural world, and the fragility and strength of both. Welch spent several weeks at BigCi artist residency near Wollemi National Park where she researched and created this work.
bio:
Nicole Welch lives and works from her hometown of Bathurst in Regional NSW and is passionate about re-envisioning the landscapes of the surrounding region. Welch’s recent trilogy of works, Illuminated Landscapes and the associated exhibitions Illumination (2012), Apparitions (2014), Eastern Interiors (2015) travelled statewide to be exhibited at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Murray Art Museum, Albury, Sydney Contemporary and Brenda May Gallery, Sydney. Illuminated Landscapes was supported by NAVA Windmill Trust Scholarship and Hill End Artists in Residence Program, with works acquired by Artbank, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Murray Art Museum, Macquarie Group and the Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra.
statement:
I am a Bathurst-based visual artist who employs installation, photography and video to investigate the theme of landscape through immersive sensory exhibitions. The regional and wilderness landscapes of NSW are central to my work. I view these environments in the midst of historical and contemporary narratives, my site-specific work being an investigation and exploration of place that aims to reveal the multi-dimensional aspect of landscape when viewed through a cultural and ecological lens. In-depth research into history and ecology informs the installations that are enacted and recorded in-situ, resulting in incongruous images that record past and present ideologies in real time.
Kandos Museum
