Nicola Canavan creates contemplative work spanning performance, installation and photography. With her work, audiences can explore the feminine body, the political body and the spiritual body which are interwoven in personal experience and desire.

Canavan acknowledges and resists the sacred and divine by entering the flesh and installing symbol through the modification and manipulation of her body, she searches for ‘Self’ through abstraction and ritual to create a domain which is immeasurable without the consensus of an audience.

There is an inherent contradiction between the physical demands Canavan places upon her body and the stillness that is matched by the slow passage of time. As the words unfold and the relationship between body and identity are defined, she slowly untangles the woven intricacies of her mind to seek solitude in the images that she creates.

Nicola Canavan is an amino associate artist.

BIOGRAPHY

Born in South Shields (North East England), Nicola has been performing and showing work nationally and internationally since graduating with a BA in Fine Art from Northumbria University in 2006. In the same year she met Kris Canavan, now husband, and has since created a series of collaborations which test the constraints and boundaries of their intimate relationship.

Nicola has created live performance within such Live Art programmes as Bodily Functions (Cork), Momentum Festival (Brussels), Inbetween Time, Arnolfini (Bristol) and most recently ]performance s p a c e[, London. Alongside this she has collaborated with Video Artist Gareth Hudson (UK), Photographers Antonio Genco (UK), Francois Boutemy (Fr) and Fiona Nicholl (UK).

2011

'Bittersweet, [part ii]', Live Performance at Platform P, Plymouth 05/11/11
‘Red Stitches on a White Crow’, ]performance s p a c e[ - London

2010

‘Untangling’ Inbetween Time Festival, Arnolofini - Bristol (Arts Council Funded)
‘Bittersweet', Photograph of Collaboration with Fiona Nicholl chosen by Newworknetwork to feature in their marketing postcards (http://www.newworknetwork. info/advocating/287)
‘I Miss You (ii)’ ACTART-8 CENSORED, Islington Metal Works-London (Arts Council Funded)
Bittersweet Exhibition, Doswell Gallery – West Cork, Ireland (http://www.bittersweet-exhibition. com/)
‘OVA’, an artist-led exhibition in Newcastle upon Tyne.
‘Bittersweet’ Photographic Collaboration with Fiona Nicholl www.purplepom.com
‘Stay...’ Photographic Collaboration with Fiona Nicholl www.purplepom.com
"Ode to Hel..." (Experimental short film) - Collaboration with Gareth Hudson, NEW MEDIA,SEX AND CULTURE – MONA, DETROIT (USA)

2009

‘361 Days’ Collaboration with Kris Canavan (Anatomy_of), Platform00000009, Newcastle
‘NatureNurture’ Photographic Collaboration with Francois Boutemy, Simulacra Studios, London
‘I Miss You (i)’ Photographic Collaboration with Francois Boutemy, Simulacra Studios, London

2008

‘Love is…?’ Collaboration with Kris Canavan (Anatomy_of), Bodily Functions, Cork
‘Private View’ Collaboration with Kris Canavan (Anatomy_of), Momentum Festival, Brussels
"Ode to Hel..." (Experimental short film) - Collaboration with Gareth Hudson - Shown at the Following venues in 2008
Cinéma Le Mélies - PORT DE BOUC (FRANCE)/ SQUARE EYES FESTIVAL (NETHERLANDS)/ ONE MINUTE FILM & VIDEOFESTIVAL (SWITZERLAND)/ PANTHEON INTERNATIONAL XPERIMENTAL FILM & ANIMATION FESTIVAL (CYPRUS)

2007

Culture Work (formerly NCSP) Funded Mentoring with Jack Sargeant (www.jacktext.net) 2007-2008
‘Blood is the colour of love’ Platform - Star and Shadow, Newcastle upon Tyne
‘Drawing Beauty, [series ii]’ Photographic Collaboration with Antonio Genco
‘Separation Anxiety’ Photographic Collaboration with Kris Canavan (Anatomy_of) & Antonio Genco

2006

‘Interpretation of Word’ (Intervention) Carlisle
‘Stature: (A Question of-)’ UNN, Newcastle upon Tyne
‘Pulling at My Heart Strings (I)’ UNN, Newcastle upon Tyne
‘(Untitled Collaboration)’ Performance with Johanna Gullin, (Intervention) Carlisle
‘Interpretation of Love’ Piggyback - Gallery North, Newcastle upon Tyne
‘Father’ UNN, Newcastle upon Tyne
‘Mute’ Norwich Fringe Festival, Norwich

2005

‘Cut Throat’ (Intervention) Carlisle
‘The Return of Isabella’ A fine Line Between Good Art and Bad Life- North Gallery
‘Fun for All the Family’ A fine Line Between Good Art and Bad Life- North Gallery, Newcastle
‘Drawing Beauty [series i]’ Photographic collaboration with Thomas Heaton