Nicola Dale: Not So firm as faded ink

About

Friday 15 May, 10am - 12pm: One-to-one mentoring and advice sessions for Cardiff-based early-career visual artists
with Mark Devereux and Nicola Dale. FREE but booking essential at markdevereuxprojects.com.
Friday 15 May, 12:30 - 2pm: Guided tour of Not so firm as faded ink plus in-conversation event with artist Nicola Dale
and curator Mark Devereux. FREE no booking necessary.

Not so firm as faded ink is a touring exhibition by artist Nicola Dale, questioning the potential of knowledge versus the constraint of information. Commissioned and curated by Mark Devereux Projects, the exhibition visited Centrespace Gallery (Bristol) in April before moving on to Arcadecardiff.

Nicola Dale’s work responds to recent residencies in Shanghai, focusing on its library (2013) and at the National Arts Education Archive at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2014). Her work visualizes the essence of what knowledge is and its transformation into information in a digital age. Through highlighting the ways in which we expect knowledge to be at our fingertips in our fast-paced society, Dale reduces the pace to consider the parallels between the ways we digest knowledge now and how we did so in the past.

Drawing on a wide range of sources including philosophy, science, literature and education; Dale’s responses are brought together through sculpture, installation and performance. Through investigating and testing each choice of material within her work, Dale has established a visual language allowing audiences to question the ways in which we interact with knowledge.

Pieces within the exhibitions work through ideas concerning how our minds are forever trapped by one set of ideologies or another and have no way to escape. How do we break free from these cages, or can we? Dale also considers the impact of new technologies upon the book as the carrier of knowledge. Is the way in which we digest knowledge reliant on the swipe of a touchscreen? Is this a form of Braille?

With work made over the last eighteen-months; Not so firm as faded ink is the largest exhibition of Dale’s practice to date. To conclude the project and this body of work, Dale was in residence for one-week prior to her exhibition at Arcadecardiff, creating a new work (Black Cloud) in response to the gallery space.

Complementing the exhibition, Mark Devereux Projects have commissioned a new publication featuring notes from the residencies, studio works and final works from the project.

Not so firm as faded ink is funded by Arts Council England and has been developed, supported and commissioned by Mark Devereux Projects.

Further information

Nicola Dale
nicoladale.com
Nicola Dale has exhibited in numerous exhibitions including Manchester Art Gallery’s record-breaking national touring exhibition, The First Cut (Manchester, Nottingham, Southampton, 2012-2014), alongside several commissions for galleries and alternative spaces throughout the UK. Dale has been featured in a variety of publications, plus several public and private collections, including the Tate’s artist book archive. Nicola Dale is Supported by Mark Devereux Projects.

Mark Devereux Projects
markdevereuxprojects.com
Mark Devereux Projects supports visual artists through mentoring, critical dialogue and curatorial production. Each practitioner’s artistic and career development is paramount, as the organisation provides bespoke guidance, information and opportunities. Our vision is to increase the provision for bespoke support to visual artists during the transition from early to mid-career. Through collaboration from external partners and individuals, Mark Devereux Projects aims to bring artists, galleries, collectors and audiences closer.