Biography

Nicola Sutcliffe is an emerging South Australian based artist working in Tarntanya (Adelaide) who creates functional and sculptural forms.

At the core of Nicola’s practice are themes of mental health, the human connection with nature, and the organic material of clay. Form and function are the foundation of her work, with tactility and material featuring in each piece. Her forms function as tactile therapy in the hope to encourage growing, learning, and mending for maker and audience alike.

Nicola’s creations are responsive works. Responsive to experiences, tactility, thoughts, emotions, and the natural world. In 2018, her final year of her undergraduate degree drew her to plants’ self-support systems, especially in times of hardship, and representations of new growth in lighter colours, smaller forms, and softer textures. Currently taking inspiration from the Fibonacci sequence, a series of mathematical numbers representing growth patterns in nature, she explores in parallel with human experience.

Features

FACADE : University of South Australia Graduate Exhibition 2015

VERSE Magazine Edition 35 – The Mental Health Edition

Nicola discusses her 2018 graduate works Embracing Growth and how clay has helped her through ‘sad spells’. She opens up about the importance of sharing mental health experiences and reaching out.

Click the image to read.