ARTIST STATEMENT
I am currently making large soft sculptural forms that more directly reference the functions and systems of the body. Hair grows, odors develop, wounds ooze, bones degrade, hormones falter; I can actively influence these processes of my physical form, but I cannot control any of them fully. My body is mine, but it is also an organism with its own needs. I am compelled to explore this organism that exists and acts beyond my desires. If I digest contaminated food, it is expelled by my body. My diminishing hormones cause excessive bleeding and roast me from the inside out as I age into menopause. Sudden movements are painful as muscles become dysfunctional from weakness and injury. These functions occur regardless of my efforts. My previous work explored my body and its discipline with very careful and precise forms. These new figures and forms allow me to explore this growing intimacy and acceptance I have with the organism that is my physical form. The act of sewing is integral to these new forms. The stitch, by piercing, pulling and closing, is both aggressive and restorative. Stitching is an act of accumulation. It is a collection of marks, moments, and attachments that give shape to a form. In undertaking the process of sewing in these figurative forms, I can come to rest in my own body more fully.
More Art by ©Nicole Havekost
Nicole Havekost is an artist living in Rochester, Minnesota. Her own work is varied in media and technique but linked by her interest in material and process. Her work has a delicate and feminine quality, but one that is driven by her particular obsessions. Recently, Nicole was a 2018 Artist Initiative Grant recipient from the Minnesota State Arts Board and a 2018 Advancing Artist grant recipient from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council. She was also a finalist for the 2016 Jerome Emerging Artist fellowship and she was a recipient of a 2013 Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. She has recently exhibited work in New Orleans, Dallas, and Tasmania, Australia. Nicole earned her BFA in Printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA in Printmaking from the University of New Mexico.
Artist’s website: http://nikimade.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikimade/
