Artist Statement
These paintings in oil are from the series I waited for something to happen, painted after the film Je tu il elle (Belgium/ France 1975), the first feature by Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman (Brussels 1950 - Paris 2015). Akerman wrote, directed, and starred in the piece at the age of 24. I began making works looking at the film early in 2015, some months before Akerman died by her own hand. These ones are from 2020. They are painted from the opening scene of the film, wherein the protagonist Julie (Akerman) is in a small apartment, her voice describing how she moved all of the furniture out of the room, until there was just a mattress left on the floor. Some days or weeks pass. Julie lies on the mattress and writes and rewrites letters to her former lover, and eats sugar out of a paper bag. She spills all the sugar on the floor. Outside it is wintertime. The action moves in and out of frame as the camera stays static, or slowly pans left to right. Julie describes the tiny room and then she leaves. The audience is aware of moments and long minutes passing us by.
Biography
Born on Gadigal Land, in Sydney. Nicola Smith did her Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting &Printmaking) at the National Art School & her Honours year at the University of Tasmania. She has undertaken residencies at MacDowell (USA), Val-David (Québec), Contemporary Art Tasmania, as well as closer to home. Notable group exhibitions include the NSW Visual Art Fellowship (Emerging) at Artspace, Painting. More Painting at ACCA, the Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize at NAS Gallery, the Sulman at the Art Gallery of NSW, &the Ramsay at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Her work has been featured in Art Collector, Art Guide, Sturgeon, & Museum magazines. Smith is represented by Sarah Cottier Gallery. Her 6th solo exhibition there, Antonio, ran from 9 July until 6 August this year.