Nic Brown

Artist Statement
Tennesse Williams said In memory everything seems to happen to music. In Nicole Browns work the world washes in and out of brilliant colours and inky shadows, and memory seems to happen in hues. In works such as She Brings the Rain and The Night Swept Through Me, the hazy snow, rain and sleet of memories - fractured and gentle or sharp and violent - fall slowly through this dreamy universe. Nicoles preoccupation with where we are and the very conditions of our existence - the possible dislocation of our minds and bodies - invites the viewer into an emotive world of wonder. A consideration of the entrancing and serious stares of the figures holds us in this Other place. These works are no longer the 19th century images of somebodys ancestor, the figures are now free to inhabit a narrative of the artists creation - an exploratory zone where strong, bold colour dissolves through the work and seeps into the room. Nicoles exploration of the state of being does not remain solely in the locked stare of the figures but is further investigated, inverted, slathered and smoothed across the canvas. The figures melt in and out of their environments - their details are sought, found, lost and rediscovered or perhaps remembered. Highlights of vibrant colour lick the canvas and imbue the works with a quiet psychological intensity. There is real strength in Nicole's brushstrokes. And the unnatural palate gives a feeling of unease as we ponder our own genetic history and ourselves - slipping through space and time. We are always somewhere between waking and dreaming. Thanks to Nicole, that is a very intriguing and beautiful place to be. Transcript of talk by guest speaker Jennifer Kalionis, Manager Community Arts and Culture, City of Prospect, for the opening of "Somewhere Between Waking and Dreaming" at A Room of Her Own, Croydon, SA.

Art Forms