Contact Nicky at: info.nickynadine@gmail.com
Art allows us to say and show things that – often – can’t be said. Traces, memories, stories, and sensations that are too fleeting, too complicated, too difficult to say can appear in images and objects. The work of Nicky Nadine is a practice that is dedicated to showing those human experiences and connections that don’t lend themselves to being easily said or spoken of.
Her images and objects opens up the possibility of questioning, answering and sharing our desire to know and be attentive to the unknown and unsaid. Using an approach based on creating a safe but unsettling sense of uncertainty, her practice evokes a child-like approach to seeing the world. The narrative storytelling in her images a testament to her background in illustration. She explores scale and distortion – of things being dauntingly out of scale or bizarrely (and often humorously) ‘out of place’; the work uses processes like papier-mâché, drawing on instinct and impulse, and embraces imperfection and the unexpected.
This playful approach allows her to contend with complex, distressing subjects, such as her past trauma of surviving an abusive mother and living with the aftermath of that experience. She has found solace in her artmaking because it has allowed her to discover a voice to say those things that refuse easy articulation. Her work therefore aims to nurture and use the creative process to open dialogues about topics that are less traveled .
Nicky has exhibited widely including recent exhibitions such at Beyond the Capital’s ‘Manifestations’ hosted at PINK gallery in Stockport. She was awarded the Dean’s Award for the Manchester School of Art Sketchbook Prize and has, over the past three years, been commissioned by local record label, Sour Grapes Records, to create gig posters for venues such as; Projekts MCR Skatepark, Big Hands, Gullivers, Deaf Institute, and Night & Day Cafe.
Born in Scotland, Nicky is a neurodiverse artist who has been based in Manchester for the last 9 years having previously lived in Cambridge. While she has been estranged from her Ukrainian mother for little over a decade, she maintains a strong connection with her dad, younger brother and aunt as well as her eclectic family of friends. If she's not bumbling about in her studio at Cakebread Workshops, you can find her cooking, writing, enjoying theatre, attempting to learn to skateboard in warmer weather, or finding another hobby to maintain.
Images courtesy of Franziska Tremper-Jeschke
Exhibitions & Awards
2024
MFA Show, Holden Gallery, Manchester School of Art, Manchester, Uk
- The Harley Open, The Harley Gallery, Worksop, Uk
- Beyond the Capital: Manifestations, PINK, Stockport, Uk
- MA Show, Manchester School of Art, Manchester, Uk
2023
- Extract, K-House Gallery, Manchester, Uk
2022
- Manchester Open Exhibition, HOME, Manchester, Uk
2019
- New Designers, Business Design Centre, London, Uk
- Shortlisted Mural Design for NHS Christies Hospital, sponsored by Tim Bacon Foundation
- Manchester School of Art Sketchbook Awards; Dean's Prize
- Studentship Award, from Illustration with Animation staff
2018
- Manchester Film Festival, Odeon Great Northern (Previously AMC), Manchester, Uk