"The series ‘Physical Resources’ was born out of a dark place. I had just gotten my third concussion and fell into an artistic crisis. I asked myself how I could continue making art in a manner that would appease my yearning for all kinds of mediums and styles. I began working on these pieces as an exploration into various mediums and techniques. All the reference material is sourced from physical items in my studio, predominantly magazines from the 60s-80s. This affinity for a physical reference stems from the fact that I cannot visualize anything in my brain. If I do not have a reference in front of me it's as if that object or image ceases to exist. It took me 20 years to realize that is not typical, although it did help me understand the allure realism holds for me.
These works deal with themes of consumer and print culture, the past, and patterns of visual consumption. The series synthesizes images, text, and pattern from various sources and the result is an inundation of information. The reference materials and techniques used during production are only would have been available in the time period of the sources themselves. An old-school projector and manual transfers are among the methods I use. There is absolutely no working from screens or images sourced on the internet. This technological avoidance was helpful while recovering from a concussion, yet, also synonymous with the work undertaken. The resulting pieces combine image transfer, tracing, drawing, painting, resizing, with minimal collage. The aim is to emulate everyday life, borrowing imagery from a period where things did not ‘move’ as fast. It represents a resistance to the overloading of visual cues and information that is characteristic of an internet age.
The pieces are a limbo of intentionality. My aim is to actively deconstruct the composition through overlapping, resizing, cropping, and sometimes through the lack of a clear focal point. I am actively trying to balance discord and harmony. Overall, the images from a wide variety of sources are transformed to gain new indexical value. The series speaks to a nostalgia for a past where technology as we know it did not exist. A time where you could not see a million images in the palm of your hand, when the physical was a crucial way of transferring information.
The theme of nostalgia permeates my art. It embodies a nostalgia for a time I’ve never lived in and an infidelity to the present. These works appropriate a variety of images to function as a patchwork quilt of cultural references. In presenting a false reality by means of outward aesthetic glorification, they comment on culture through what has been included or omitted from popular discourse and circulation."
About the Artist
Nerine Cavadias is an interdisciplinary artist who works in a variety of mediums. Predominantly a painter, her art practice largely revolves around the past, with specific interest in social commentary, and lived or un-lived experience. Her affinity for realism and commitment to photo-based work stems from the lack of a “minds-eye”; a condition called Aphantasia which affects only 1-3% of people. As she nears the end of her formal art education at the University of Guelph, Nerine has begun emphasising process in her work. She utilizes family memorabilia as a starting point in numerous pieces; and approaches it as if she were a semi-detached third-party. Nerine is in her final year of studies, completing a Bachelor's degree in Studio Art with a minor in Art History.
AVAILABLE WORK:
P.R. I, 2022
Acrylic, Oil, Ink Transfer, Carbon paper, Glitter glue, Pastel, Gouache, and Collage on Wood
40” x 40”
$1000
P.R. II, 2022
Acrylic, Ink Transfer, Carbon paper, Graphite, Pastel, Coloured pencil, Vinyl, Gouache, and
Collage on Wood
40” x 40”
$1000
P.R. III, 2022
Acrylic, Oil, Ink Transfer, Carbon paper, Conte, Gouache, and Collage on Wood
40” x 40”
$1000
Showing at 84 Wyndham Street N, Guelph ON N1H 4E8
FEBRUARY 17 to MARCH 13 2023