Artist’s Talk: Nicola Dale

For CG Associates only

Nicola Dale will talk about her practice and about making the transition to being a full-time artist. Dale’s work visualises the acquisition of knowledge. She is intrigued by the irreversible transition from the materiality of books, libraries and institutionalised learning to the intangible data overload of the digital world. She examines the difference between knowledge and information and locates in each a source of potential and constraint – the resulting tension is both a conceptual motivation and an aesthetic objective.

Defying the ease, speed and perfection with which artworks can now be made digitally, Dale’s delicate sculptures revel in slow, human imprecision. She uses ephemeral or natural materials for their capacity to retain the impression of her imperfect touch. Underpinned by a rigorous attention to process, she investigates what her hands can achieve with minimal apparatus. Her work takes time.

Dale’s choice and manipulation of materials reacts against our depthless, screen-mediated world. Her engagement with manual processes and her focus on cut, curl and contour belie our diminishing sense of touch. Her pieces shiver with multiple focal points. They require the viewer’s eyes to move, scroll and refresh. They are defiantly positioned in real time and solid state.

Nicola Dale has exhibited internationally, undertaking commissions at galleries and alternative spaces. Recent highlights include residencies at The University of Manchester (2015); NAEA at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2014); Shanghai College of Fine Arts (2013) and a touring solo exhibition with publication curated by Mark Devereux Projects, Not So Firm As Faded Ink (Centrespace, Bristol; Arcadecardiff, 2015).

Nicola was born and lives in Manchester, UK where she received a BA (First Class) in Interactive Arts and a Masters in Visual Culture (with Distinction) from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Image: Readng – Nicola Dale (2015)