Artist Profile - Nell

Tell us a little about how your collaboration with Meadowlark came about?

We met on Instagram in 2017 and then briefly in Auckland not long after that. In early 2020, Claire reached out and asked if I'd like to do a collab with Meadowlark. Obviously, I said yes! We worked together online for two & a half years and sent samples back and forth until we arrived at the gorgeous collection we are on the cusp of launching.

When did you know you were going to be an artist?

I'm very lucky... I never made a decision to be an artist, I just knew. It was very simple. What are your strongest childhood memories relating to art? I wasn't really exposed to any art as a child. As a teenager I saw art in books and on TV until I was finally allowed to catch the train to Newcastle to go to a gallery. But my earliest childhood memory of being alive and porous to the world was when I was about 3 or 4 years old: I was standing at the kitchen window looking at the back garden and watching the most beautiful sun shower. I wondered, if it was raining here, was it raining everywhere? That is, is this experience everyone's and everything's experience? I asked my parents. They didn't understand. In some ways this is the core exploration of my entire art practice: what is the same and what is different?

What mediums do you work with? Which one do you love the most?

Oh this question! I work with so many mediums, nothing is off limits! All materials have energy. And meaning. That's why having a studio is so important to me, as it's a dedicated space to commune with materials. And yes, I love them all.

How would you describe your work?

Regardless of material outcome, my work is always exploring thresholds of binary opposites, such as the ancient and contemporary, individual and communal, feminine and masculine, sacred and profane, and so on. I'm usually either trying to amplify the tensions or marry the differences between these binary positions.

Which piece are you most proud of?

I've made so many things! It's impossible to single anything out. I just think every day in the studio is a good day.



Follow Nell on instagram here.

Shop Meadowlark X Nell here.

Words and interview via Meadowlark.