Nicholas Folland’s exhibition Burn Down the House is on show at Linden until 16 May 2021.
Nic’s practice explores the relationship between domestic objects and materials, natural forces and historical references. We have been in touch with Nic this week, from his home in Adelaide, to find out more about how he works and what inspires him.
My work responds to both the domestic and to natural environments, often looking for a point where these two areas collide or come into
conflict. The control of the domestic sits in contrast to the wilds of the natural environment, but while we structure our homes as safely
managed places of domesticity, we invite natural elements into these spaces, at the same time resisting the extreme and unpredictable
aspects of the environment that might cause discomfort or interrupt the controlled comfort of desired lives. The resulting conflicts and
struggles provide fertile ground to explore more complex notions of existence.
The materials that I employ are primarily objects that I identify within these various environments. Often they consist of furniture or
furnishings and materials I glean from journeys into the scrub, but may equally originate from my recycling or home gardening.
My work is motivated by my own personal experiences and responses to the world, as well as historical narratives of travel and exploration.
Often these narratives focus on failure and loss in the face of great achievement, but also on the miraculous or more ritualised processes
within cultures that are structured to enable rescue or hope.
My studio is a private place where I can explore ideas without interruption, and where things with potential gather in action and storage.
It’s versatile and changes depending on the nature and scale of the projects at hand – everything is on wheels! Additionally I use larger
spaces for short periods of time when my studio is too small for the task, and often employ the skills of professionals and their
specialised work spaces for ends that I can’t achieve on my own.
I identify things in the world that might have potential and then live with them while I figure out their relevance. In reality, anything
that comes into my studio, my home and my garden has the potential to end up in my work.
My work schedule varies, with multiple projects progressing at any one time. However only a few of the projects I begin have final outcomes, as ideas merge and fall to the side. There is a kind of cooking period, where if things don’t gel within a reasonable time they get packed away for a while. Some things boil for a long time.
I have a range of projects coming up over the next 12 months, including a restaging of my large scale animated kitchen installation ‘Other
Homes and Gardens’ at Riddoch Art Gallery, Mt Gambier, a residency to create new work for the inaugural Oceanic Craft Biennale in Perth, and
new glass work for a touring show that will kick off at Canberra Glass Works later in the year.
IMAGES [Top to bottom] > Portrait of Nicholas Folland > Nicholas Folland in his studio. Photograph by Jessica Clark
> Nicholas Folland in his studio. Photograph by Jessica Clark > Nicholas Folland, Outside-in [installation view],
2021. Photograph: Theresa Harrison Photography. > Nicholas Folland, Track 1 [installation view], 2021. Photograph:
Theresa Harrison Photography. > Nicholas Folland, S-O, 2021. Photograph: Theresa Harrison Photography. >
Nicholas Folland, Flirt installation, 2019. Image courtesy of the artist and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. > Nicholas
Folland, Burn Down the House installation, 2021. Photograph: Theresa Harrison Photography. > Nicholas Folland, Burn
Down the House installation,
2021. Photograph: Theresa Harrison Photography. > Nicholas Folland, Outside-in [detail], 2021. Photograph: Theresa
Harrison Photography. > Nicholas Folland, Burn Down the House [installation view], 2021. Photograph: Theresa Harrison
Photography.
+ More info about Nicholas
Folland
+ Visit the Nicholas Folland > Burn Down the House
Tuesday 16 March 2021, 6PM to 7PM, FREE Live on YouTube and Facebook
Nicholas Folland’s exhibition title Burn Down the House is not an open invitation to visit our gallery with match in hand! To find
out what this provocative exhibition title is all about, gather your friends and join Curator Juliette Hanson and Nicholas Folland as they
explore the themes, ideas and inspiration for this new exhibition.
Dr Marion Piper's essay Creating Certainty explores her response to seeing art in real life in
January, when she visited the Linden Postcard Show 2020-21.
+
Read more
Stunning studio photographs by Theresa Harrison accompanied by a series of reflections from the artists, providing new insights into their practice.
I see death and the passage of time as a natural part of life and want to engage in ideas about the power
of loss ..
+
Read more
Often my work draws upon nostalgia to playfully engage with the mundane every day .+ Read more
My creative process becomes a meditative act in itself…drawing me into the moment of self-forgetting ...
+ Read more
I paint mainly women in interiors. I want to create a recognisable intensity and intimacy ...
+ Read more
I hope viewers experience Joy in the sensuality of the elaborate and boldly theatrical, and surprise at
the allure of this artifice ...
+ Read more
In 2020 I decided to use the strange year and lockdowns as an opportunity to experiment with textures and
mark making which I had long been hoping to find time to explore ...
+ Read more
I very briefly studied fashion and considered it as a career, which certainly shaped my approach to making
work ...
+ Read more
My work responds to both the domestic and to natural environments, often looking for a point where these
two areas collide or come into conflict
...
+ Read more
If you like what you see, we hope that you will share this with your friends, family and colleagues.
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22 May 2021 > 22 August 2021
To Feed your Oracle
Ruth Höflich is an artist and filmmaker, born in Munich, Germany, and currently based in Melbourne. In an
installation of video, photography and site intervention, To
Feed Your Oracle will
explore how we might understand, or predict, things that we can’t see and how our expectations might affect how we experience the
unknown.
+ Read more
Wellness Deity
Vipoo Srivilasa is a Thai-born Melbourne-based artist, curator and arts activist. This exhibition will present the Wellness Deity Project,
which Srivilasa undertook in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This collaborative, community-driven project invited people to submit a
drawing of their Wellness Deity, a being that has a special empowering or protective power.
+ Read more
Natasha Bieniek is best-known for her miniature oil paintings. Bieniek’s paintings are meticulous in their
execution and demand close inspection. They link the ancient tradition of 16th century miniature painting with present-day image culture.
This exhibition brings together a suit of recent works that have not been seen together before, including Bieniek’s stand out painting, Biophilia,
which was the winner of the Wynne Prize in 2015.
+ Read more
Things to explore in our Local Neighbourhood to enhance your next visit to St Kilda and the gallery.
+ Read more
A recap of recent Linden Contemporaries adventures exploring some of the best private art
collections in Melbourne.
+ Read more
We look forward to welcoming you at the gallery soon to see our latest series of solo exhibitions by leading
mid-career artists.
> Troy Emery's Sonder
> Nicholas Folland's Burn Down the House
> Ash
Keating's Duality.
If you would like to find out more about these exceptional artists, book into a Meet the Artist
session to hear from them what drives their practice and what inspires their creativity.
I would like to offer my thanks to Creative Victoria for the additional funding to support this new initiative and to the fabulous team at Linden who have worked behind the scenes to create Linden Extra.
Melinda Martin
Director
March 2021
Q&A by Juliette Hanson | Editing: Juliette Hanson & Chloé Hazelwood | Design: Mathieu Vendeville
