ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
KENT ARTIST PROFILE
NICOLE MOLLETT
NICOLE MOLLETT IS A SOCIALLY ENGAGED ARTIST WHOSE PRIMARY MEDIUM IS DRAWING . HER WIDER PRACTISE INCLUDES SCULPTURE , PERFORMANCE AND PUBLIC ART . HER DRAWINGS ARE VISUALLY RICH IN DETAIL AND OFTEN CELEBRATE ALTERNATIVE HISTORIES AND FORGOTTEN PLACES - INCLUDING THOSE IN KENT . SHE DRAWS IMAGINED REALITIES , WHICH ARE COMPOSITIONS USING IMAGES FROM EARLY ENCYCLOPEDIAS , TOGETHER WITH ARCHIVAL PRINTS , PHOTOGRAPHS AND FOUND OBJECTS .
Nicole , tell us a little bit about your artist journey . I studied a BA art at Middlesex University and MFA at the Slade School of Art UCL . I went on to work as a curator for Swale Borough Council for seven years before going full-time freelance as a socially engaged artist .
Can you explain the process behind creating a piece ? I make visually rich art that celebrates diversity , engages communities and encourages intercultural connections . I believe the more diverse a community is , the richer and stronger it is . I draw imagined realities collaging a range of research images found in museums , local archives and real places I have visited . I think it is important for people to learn about their history . My work often celebrates alternative histories and forgotten people and places of significance .
You depict a lot of the fantastical combined with the natural world in your work . Can you tell us about this ? I think there is magic in most places if you scratch below the surface . It is often the unloved and grim places that have the most wonders waiting to be discovered . I believe monsters can be used as a way of talking about our complicated human psychology . By projecting our flaws onto imaginary beings it is easier for us to digest our communal truths . Far from being a primitive expression of culture , monsters are a sophisticated mechanism with which we can understand ourselves .
In what ways has Kent inspired your work ? Sheppey is a very special place for me . After WW2 , my great uncle Clifford set up the Isle of Sheppey Catamaran Yacht Club ( C . Y . C ). My dad , Peter Mollett , was commodore of the club for over 10 years during the 80s and 90s . I grew up spending my summers in a chalet and sailing on Sheppey and I spent most of my teenage years hanging out in WW2 bunkers , on the beach and being creative on Sheppey , so I became very fond of this beautiful isle .
I was awarded the Kent Cultural Baton Commission by KCC in 2010 as part of the Cultural Olympiad . I got to travel the entire county for two years , going to multiple random remote places , small village fetes and tiny museums . I collaborated with many exciting contemporary artists who live in Kent and I fell in love with the county and all the strange , wonderful people and stories which exist here .
Anything else you would like our readers to know ? Support good artists , writers and musicians and in return they will enrich your communities and lives .
nicole . mollett www . nicolemollett . co . uk
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