Covergirl Adhesives Nabilah Nordin 7 February - 29 February, 2020
Covergirl AdhesivesNabilah Nordin
7 February - 29 February, 2020
https://comagallery.com/exhibition/fishers-of-men/
COMA is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work by Australian Singaporean artist Nabilah Nordin - her first solo
with the gallery - titled Covergirl Adhesives.
This new body of work is concerned with celebrating surface, texture and colour. Functioning on an immediate, visceral
level the sculptures act as both stand-alone objects and work to convey the rigorous labour that goes into them. To achieve
a finish and to create a final appearance, whether it is shiny and glossy or activated through globules and ridges, the
physical undertaking for Nordin is enormous. These processes - sweeping, sawing, drilling, mixing - are embedded in the sculptures, something the viewer may or may not discern
when presented with only the final layer.
In Covergirl Adhesives, Nordin is actively challenging the commonly-held assumption that to appreciate a surface, or
an appearance is a superficial act. To the artist the surface of an artwork is like a performance, and one that conceals the
labour that maintains it. In their natural state the materials of these works experiece cracking, crumbling and loss of shape. It takes this performance of sorts, the laying of adhesives and
holding matter, to keep them composed and contained.
The title, Covergirl Adhesives, speaks to the labour required to prop up appearances. It expresses feelings of materiality, personal processes and the glossy final image itself. It also
presents a certain aesthetic – a sleek, photographic, sparkling appearance that is, ironically, made from construction and everyday materials – cement, paint, wood, wire and metal.
Nabilah NordinMetal Facial, 2020reinforcement bar, chicken wire, cement, house paint33 x 33 x 20 cm12 31/32 x 12 31/32 x 7 7/8 inches
Nabilah NordinGlycerol, 2020copper pipe, chicken wire, cement, house paint, liquid gloss resin40 x 28 x 23 cm15 3/4 x 11 x 9 1/16 inches
Nabilah NordinMoisture Trap, 2020welded metal, chicken wire, cement, house paint, polyurethane75 x 14 x 38 cm29 1/2 x 5 33/64 x 14 15/16 inches
Nabilah NordinButterstick, 2020welded metal, chicken wire, cement, house paint, liquid gloss resin42 x 32 x 19 cm16 1/2 x 12 9/16 x 7 15/32 inches
Nabilah NordinExcess Management, 2020welded metal, chicken wire, cement, house paint, oil bar54 x 52 x 17 cm21 1/4 x 20 1/2 x 6 11/16 inches
“Sculptural form is integral to my practice. The shapes I
create are like letters in an alphabet which I use to
invent new words.”
Nabilah NordinPumice Tint, 2020chicken wire, cement, yarn, house paint, spray paint42 x 32 x 19 cm16 1/2 x 12 9/16 x 7 15/32 inches
Nabilah NordinBackstage Mull, 2020welded metal, chicken wire, cement, house paint, mosaic tile47 x 34 x 14 cm18 1/2 x 13 25/64 x 5 1/2 inches
Nabilah NordinGarden, 2020welded metal, chicken wire, cement, house paint, spray paint, rocks33 x 23 x 12 cm13 x 9 1/16 x 4 23/32 inches
Nabilah NordinCream Essence, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint, spray paint167 x 36 x 29 cm65 3/4 x 14 5/32 x 11 27/64 inches
Nabilah NordinBackbone, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint40 x 28 x 23 cm15 3/4 x 11 1/32 x 9 1/16 inches
Nabilah NordinStiffening, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint118 x 29 x 50 cm46 15/16 x 11 27/64 x 19 11/16 inches
Covergirl to me is about putting on a show, to be looked at and objectified and appreciated for surface appearance, for external qualities, for pictorial elements. It is posing for a photograph, flashy lights, the artificial.
Nabilah NordinFeatherstone, 2020cement, house paint, welded metal, chicken wire, liquid gloss resin140 x 80 x 60 cm55 1/8 x 31 1/2 x 23 5/8 inches
Nabilah NordinMelon Weight, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint46 x 156 x 26 cm18 3/32 x 61 27/64 x 10 15/64 inches
Nabilah NordinCrust Control, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint49 x 47 x 26 cm19 19/64 18 1/2 x 23 5/8 x 10 15/64 inches
Nabilah NordinSupermud, 2020foam, chicken wire, cement, house paint,oil pastels, liquid gloss resin40 x 55 x 35 cm15 3/4 x 21 21/32 x 13 25/32 inches
Nabilah NordinTabletop Hysteria, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint58 x 92 x 53 cm22 13/16 x 36 7/32 x 20 27/32 inches
“Nordin’s work is a celebration of surface texture; rough and bruaque and hard and soft and honest
and felt.”- Isobel Parker Philip
Art Gallery of New South Wales
First Floor, 71-73 Stanley StreetDarlinghurst, NSW, 2010
+61 2 8316 3592