Artist Review: Nicola Morton by Jackie and Simbi Dare

This reference for me is from the Editing Group of the Zine: Mind Objects: A Phenomenological Inquiry

1. Nicola is unique in combining amazing enthusiasm and ability to generate fantastic ideas with a just as admirable tenacity and determination to follow through with her ideas and present them to the public. Her work is consistently, brilliantly at the forefront of conceptual thought, challenging and quirky, yet invites you in with humor, performance and ebulliance. As energetic and dedicated as she is to completing her own projects, she devotes just as warm energy to being thoughtful and supportive of others, never missing a chance to be in the front row of a friends' show. She is a wonderful person to have in a group because there is simply no way to imagine her becoming jealous or competitive, or shirking her share. Her work in Mind Objects, a zine I published and distributed in New York and Berlin, is absolutely invaluable. Both her writing and her performances for the zine release were thought provoking, multi-textured, humorous, relevant and inspring. Both I and the Berlin editor agreed that of all the young artists we know, Nicola is the most deserving of success. Her enthusiasm and encouragement kept the zine on schedule when it might have flagged behind. I feel incredibly lucky to have her contributions and to have collaborated with her in writing, art and musical projects.

As a contributor to the "Phenomenological Inquiries" project, Nicola has repeatedly presented works that are challenging and engaging in ways that other contributions are not. Nicola's submissions consistently add new ideas, media and methods of communication to the project. Nicola has a unique ability to engage with new media and find ways of making new media function in novel and unintended ways. Her approach to technology is fresh, inquisitive and greatly individual. When engaging with any of her pieces, I find myself seeing with fresher eyes and a broader mind. I can only see further education continue and broaden this and give her a platform to truly shine.


2. For the past several years, Nicola has worked full time in addition to conceptualizing and performing consistently essential work. I always wished she could fully immerse herself in creating and producing art and music. Such an opportunity would not be wasted for her. Through the years her confidence has grown and now seems to be the perfect time for her to trust herself enough to make this switch. I believe this residency could be an essential turning point in her art and music career.


I believe that Nicola's approach to art as a means of communication and social renewal will contribute immensely to the art and culture of Brisbane. By studying, Nicola would be able to further advance her skills in utilizing new medias towards her artistic goals and further contribute to the art scene of Brisbane. Her contributions are simultaneously efforts at enhanced and new levels of social interaction and awareness; her ability to communicate would bring art to a wider audience and greatly enhance the role of art in society in general. Nicola is uniquely able to engage new medias and technology in challenging ways and the opportunity to study would be of benefit to her and to her community. I highly recommend her for the program, and look forward to to her future projects.