About the Artist – Nicola Hensel

The original art work used in the 20/20 Vision Voicemap Audio Series website and newsletters are digitalized works by Australian born artist, Nicola Hensel.

The work is a series of similar format collages, all with the same long narrow shape. They are pieced together to form a kind of landscape/window/doorway perspective. Each one in the series has a very loosely similar style of construction, all sharing a sense of looking through to, or down from, a good height. Each one though, as well as their slight structural variations has their own distinct atmosphere, sense of light, space and colour scheme. Layered on top of the collage, is a fine sharp drawing that helps to lock the image into the theme for that issue.

Nicola Hensel, since attaining her Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts, has exhibited regularly. She has had solo shows at Seattle University (USA), in Sydney, Brisbane and her home town of Newcastle (Australia) as well as numerous group shows. In 2005 her work was selected for inclusion in the Art Gallery of NSW Dobell Drawing Prize.

Nicola appreciates the power of drawing. It helps her to pay attention to the fullness of life. For her, its meditative process is a way of ‘being present’ to aspects of the world often overlooked. Hensel’s finely attuned work exemplifies the rewards of long and close observation.

Using considerable technical facility, the artist works directly from the specimens she gathers, often working in collage, she enjoys the aptitude to layer and enrich content and meaning through association of shape and form. Like her drawings, they are a perfect tribute to the wonderment of nature.

Nicola exhibits her work through the Jan Murphy Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia. To contact Nicola send an email to nhensel@bigpond.net.au.