Jackie Nickerson
dal 17/9/2008 al 15/11/2008
Segnalato da
Brancolini Grimaldi Arte Contemporanea
17/9/2008
Jackie Nickerson
Brancolini Grimaldi Arte Contemporanea, Roma
Faith. Le opere in mostra costituiscono il ritratto sorprendente di un universo poco visibile: quello degli ordini religiosi cattolici presenti in Irlanda. L'artista li ha fotografati per circa due anni e mezzo; i primi piani si alternano alle immagini dei rituali o dei gesti della vita quotidiana in chiese e conventi.
Brancolini Grimaldi is pleased to present "Faith", Jackie Nickerson's first solo
exhibition in Italy. "Faith" is a compelling portrayal of a hidden world, the
Catholic religious orders of Ireland.
For two-and-a-half years, Nickerson photographed inside the churches, convents and
abbeys of Ireland. She was granted unprecedented access to to the private worlds of
the religious in their places of work and prayer, some of which had never before
been seen by the outside world. Of her experience, Nickerson reflects, "These are
individuals and communities which are steeped in an interiority, which they have
discovered is not their own but something wider and deeper than themselves, of which
they are a part."
"Faith" juxtaposes gentle portraits with straightforward images of daily rituals and
communal devotion - neatly swept wooden floors on long corridors, sunny libraries
attended by Virgin Mary figurines - to suggest an austere existence grounded in
optimism, strength and contentment.
The simplicity of Nickerson's images invokes the muted and restrained palette of Fra
Angelico, bringing an often beatific air to her tranquil subjects. While never
suggesting that she is able to divine or represent the veiled mysteries of faith,
Nickerson does manage to honestly present a vocational life driven by clarity of
purpose and personal courage.
The visual language is based on the extensive research of religious art and
Christian symbolism that provides the foundation of the series. The work is not
conceptual nor is it literal. It is full of symbolism using objects, colors,
geometric shapes (as found in icon writing), and composition. The emphasis is the
concentration of commitment and the resultant physicality of both the sitters and
their environment, which goes beyond any specific Christian ritual but can be an
example of any life based on total commitment to spirituality.
Jackie Nickerson has lived and worked in Paris, Tokyo, London and New York, and
currently lives in rural Ireland. She has an international reputation for
photographing people and their environments. In 2002, she published Farm, a book of
portraits of farm workers taken across southern Africa. Her work is represented in
many important public and private collections, including the Irish Museum of Modern
Art in Dublin, the Santa Monica Museum in California, and the Margulies Collection
in Miami. Following exhibitions of "Faith" in New York, Ireland, and now Italy, the
series will be shown this fall at the Centre Culturel Irlandais as part of the Mois
de la Photo in Paris.
Image: Washing Eucarist Vessels 2006, 99x79 cm
Opening: Thursday, September 18th 2008, 6pm
Brancolini Grimaldi Arte Contemporanea
Via dei Tre Orologi, 6/A 00197 Roma
Tues-Sat 3-7pm
Free admission