Nicky Coutts
Nicky Coutts studied for an MA in Fine Art
at Chelsea College of Art and Design in 1992 and completed a PhD in Photography
at the Royal College of Art in 2001. Her work has been exhibited at public venues
that include Kunsthalle Mainz, Germany; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Hå gamle prestegard,
Norway; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin; and the Institute of Contemporary
Arts (ICA), London. Recent projects have been developed as part of residency and fellowship programmes at Künstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral, Germany; Youkobo Art Space, Tokyo; Visual Arts in Rural Communities (VARC), Northumberland, UK and Rondo, Austria. Writing, publishing and artists’ books also form an important part of her practice. She was formerly a commissioning editor of Make, Magazine of Women’s Art, an associate editor of Coil: Journal of the Moving Image and, as postdoctoral fellow in Fine Art, instigated a series of collaborative publications at Middlesex University under the imprint Confluens. > Curriculum vitae > Artist website > Exhibitions at the gallery: My Previous Life as an Ape 2015, Millions Like Us 2010, The Discovery of Slowness 2008 SELECTED WORKS
Mimics series 1 2015 photo etching 13 x 17cm Mimicry is a powerful tool for survival. Like chameleons, octopuses change colour to match their backgrounds when sensing predator or prey; the harmless milk snake mimics the colouring of the venomous coral snake to ward off other animals; and the foureye butterflyfish has dark spots resembling eyes on its body, confusing potential predators. The latter is an example of ‘automimicry,’ when one body part of an animal mimics another, giving the animal a better chance of surviving an attack. Nicky Coutts Mimics series 1 speaks to this type of mimicry, using imagery of mimetic animals to evoke ideas of the similarities between animal and human use of mimesis when resorting to manipulation to survive. A series of five photo etchings on Somerset paper,
the work presents animals superimposed onto different photographs taken
of the outdoor area at Lincoln’s Inn, the UK’s largest concentration of
lawyers’ chambers. Owl butterflies grasp onto a set of wrought iron railings,
spider-web like in the intricacy of their metalwork. An oriental flying
gurnard glides above the surface of the grass; the air its water, the ground
its seabed, while a sun bittern moves across the same grass, outstretched
wings reminiscent of a judge’s robes. A serval looks towards the building,
its attention focused, waiting, and two foureyed butterflyfish float across
the surface of a bush. Each of these animals has eyespot markings, their
automimicry creating a sense of omnipotence in this judicial environment.
They become even more mimetic in Coutts’ depiction of them, flattened against
the background in their black and white camouflage. There is a parallel
drawn between the mimesis of the animals and the mimesis of the lawyers
residing in the chambers here; a profession where alertness and the ability
to camouflage intentions and adapt to quickly changing surroundings for
the sake of one’s (or one’s clients) protection is fundamental. Coutts underlines
the intrinsic instinct to shapeshift, present in humans and animals alike. - Tess Charnley
All Rise 2015 HD Video 7'30 minutes
Mimics series 1 2015 photo etching 13 x 17cm
Mimics series 2 2015 court drawings by court artist Sian Frances
Mimics series 3 2015 c-type print mounted on aluminium 100 x 66cm
Under the Weather 2014 a shelter at Inverewe gardens Scotland photograph by Ewen Weatherspoon
18 Holes with Fanny 2013 series of 18 Caran D'ache pencil drawing on coloured paper 29.7 x 21 cm
A Tower in the Minds of Others 2008, garden sheds
The Empire of Lights 2007, video, 18mn
Keep 2007, video, 10mn
The Discovery of Slowness (An Attempt at Drowning and An Attempt at Disappearance) 2007, video, 26mn
At Sea series 2007, Inkjet print, 840 x 594 mm
Estates (Longleat) 2007, C-type print on aluminium, 155 x 123 cm
A City Hunts a Murderer 2006, Video
Another Land 3 2006, Black and white photograph on aluminium, tryptich, 150 x 230 cm
Campagna 2003, C-type print on aluminium, 48.8 x 56.5 cm
Dark Day 2003, C-type print on aluminium, 38 x 74.5 cm
Battle 2003, C-type print on aluminium
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