Through the hustle and bustle of students at the show I saw Nina's painting To Surround. I stared - or more appropriately - fell into the work like Alice falls into the rabbit hole, the sound draining away like someone was turning down a radio. In slow motion my vision was sucked into a distorted, purple-grey room in which stood three doors or spaces closed up by bricks. I was floating in the space, looking at three choices of doors to run out of, yet knowing I couldn't get out through any of them - I was trapped. If this sounds more like a dream than a painting that is because Nina's work takes you to a similar place - one where your sense of space and time has been dramatically rearranged.
The work reminded me of a photograph that appears in David Lynch's film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. At night time the photo given to Laura Palmer by an old lady opens into a bizarre other world. Watch the scene from 'Fire Walk With Me'
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| Photograph from 'Fire Walk with Me' |
Nina’s paintings take you into a world that, disconcertingly, is familiar yet unfamiliar. They make you consider the space around you in its purest form as if for the first time, creating a range of feelings from calmness to uneasiness. The way she speaks about her work is so inspiring: serious yet light-hearted; modest yet calmly confident. It is clear that her work is completely a part of her being. I can honestly say that her work has taken me to new places and I am incredibly proud that she is taking part in this show.
Clara Cowan
Clara Cowan
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| To Surround, Nina Royle |
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