Nicole Clouston is a practice-based researcher currently completing her PhD in Visual Art at York University. Nicole uses scientific techniques as artistic medium in her sculptural work creating a new context for engaging the ineffable aspects of scientific knowledge. She has exhibited her work in Victoria, Toronto, and Montreal. Nicole was awarded a SSHRC Canada Graduate Research Scholarship and was the recipient of the Anne Lazare-Mirvish Award. Further information on Nicole and her practice can be found at http://www.nicoleclouston.com.
Mud (UofT) is an exploration mud, the microbial life within it and the ways in which we are connected to it. Exposed to light, the microbial life already present in the mud – including bacteria, moulds and yeasts – has begun to flourish, creating vibrantly coloured bands throughout the sculpture. Although the microbial life growing in the sculpture are not directly from our bodies, they call attention to the microbes that are everywhere around, on, and in us. It is possible that, by acknowledging our connection to a world teeming with life both around and inside us, we may foster a stronger, more empathetic relationship between ourselves and our ecosystem as a whole.
a video about the process leading to the artwork