Nic’s artistic practice has always been driven by her ethics regarding sustainability and her natural affinity with the process of re-purposing wooden structures. Her father was a boat builder, and an intimate knowledge of the materials, structures and precision of his craft runs through her and directs her as an artist.
The artworks on display at Farleys have been made from the tar socked under belly of a 30ft Hastings and Rye fishing boat called ‘Rosie Haze RX320’, which Nic decommissioned in 2016.
Each Cormorant has been cut from the elm planking with great care, in order to preserve the boat’s structure and the remnants of its journeys at sea. The artwork is still held together with the original oak ribs, copper rivets, caulking, nails and roves.
‘Cormorant 360’ is a relief sculpture. Designed to be viewed from all angles, it combines the curve of the boat with the movement of the bird. The artwork has been weather guarded and mounted on a repurposed telegraph pole.
‘Lookout Cormorant’ has been designed for an interior. She proudly sits in silhouette on a repurposed mainsail mast. She asks her viewer to look up and to admire her striking, very different views, from both the front and back.