Nicola Oliver is a multidisciplinary Tasmanian artist based in the Huon Valley who is currently completing a Diploma of Fine Arts at the University of Tasmania. While you will find her working across textiles, felting, photography, ceramics, wood, pyrography and light, Nicola’s primary practice is grounded in textile art, particularly felting, embroidery and experimental surface techniques. Nicola says that she is driven by curiosity, experimentation and a love of materials and she is fascinated by the possibilities of transforming ordinary, discarded and natural materials into something unexpected.

Texture is central to Nicola’s practice, reflecting her background as a textile artist and her instinctive way of working with surfaces, fibres and found materials. She is also increasingly expanding into photography, ceramics, woodwork, pyrography and light-based objects. Nicola is drawn to materials that carry evidence of transformation, age and natural processes, often repurposing discarded or found materials. Her work often explores themes of  transformation, nature, survival, memory and the relationship between light and darkness.

Nicola says she approaches making through experimentation, curiosity and a willingness to let materials influence the final outcome. Rather than being confined to one medium, Nicola allows each idea to determine the materials and processes she explores. Experimentation, problem-solving and discovering what a material can become are fundamental to her creative practice.