Nicola Dickson

Under~Stories
Solo Exhibition
17 July Grainger Gallery

Images Brenton McGeachie

As often as I can I begin my day walking in the Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve.
Invariably I am treated to a chorus of birdsong and glimpses of native animals,
reminding me of the complex, interconnected world I share. On top of the ridge I
meet the sky and am treated to a panoramic view of the hills encircling the ACT.
This nature reserve, situated on Ngunnawal Country, is a remnant of the vast Box
Gum Grassy Woodland ecosystem which prior to white settlement spread across
south eastern Australia. Walking along the paths, I see evidence of shifting human
interaction with the reserve in the form of disused fencing, stands of Radiata pine, a
melange of understorey weeds and native plants and active and abandoned quarries.
Under-Stories builds on an earlier exhibition I held at Wagga Wagga Art Gallery in
2023 to include these histories within in the Box Gum Grassy Woodlands of our
region. Paintings depict elusive woodland birds and the trees they are inhabit alluding
to a complex, fragile biodiversity. The co-existence of alternate past and present
understandings of woodlands is the subject of a series of paintings where understorey
woodland plants have been re-ascribed their Wiradjuri name.
I have juxtaposed native plants with weeds in drawings which I then used to construct
digitally printed wallpaper and fabrics. These are incorporated into two installations
that speak to the impacts of European settlement on these woodlands.

Nicola Dickson lives and works in Canberra although predominately a painter, Nicola
utilises a range of mediums including drawing, ceramics and installation. Her
artworks explore how the specific stories and natural history of a location combine to
inform an experience of 'place'. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the
School of Art at the Australian National University in 2003 before undertaking a PhD
which she completed in 2010. She has exhibited widely since graduating and has held
over twenty solo exhibitions nationally including a show at Wagga Wagga Art
Gallery in 2023. Nicola has been a finalist in many prizes including the Sulman,
Waterhouse, Kilgour, and Hadley Art Prize. Nicola's work was included in the
National Portrait Gallery exhibition 'So Fine: Contemporary women artists make
Australian history' in 2018 and is represented in the collections of the Canberra
Museum & Gallery, Parliament House and the ACT Legislative Assembly. She has
undertaken several residencies including the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, the
Norman Bird Sanctuary, Rhode Island and the BigCi residency, Bilpin.