Nina Fraser at her studio "Atelier Concorde". Photographed by Sarah Kilgallon. All work featured: Nina Fraser​

Nina Fraser's art practice is a multidisciplinary exploration of human interaction and our relationship with the environment. 

Nina Fraser delves into the nuanced space between personal and collective landscapes, considering her art as a shared journey. 

In her own words, her multidisciplinary approach, spanning collage, painting, assemblage, and sculpture, seeks to "reflect upon a sense of place that shapes memory traces into physical form, exposing the fragility of our constructed reality."

Fraser uses multiple mediums and techniques to provocatively question how notions of identity and place can be reconstructed, especially in the face of disruption and chaos.

Artwork Archive had the chance to chat with Nina Fraser about her chosen artwork methods, how a tragedy impacted her creative process, and how Artwork Archive makes her art career more manageable! 

You can see more of her work on Discovery and learn more about her art practice below. 

Nina Fraser, 'The Fall of the Rebel Angels', 48 x 114 cm, 2020

Do you have a favorite or most satisfying part of your process? If so, can you share a bit about it?

I really enjoy starting something new, but the most satisfying part of my creative process is exhibiting my work, as this feels like closure.

However, that being said, a lot of my work isn't completely finished and often takes on a new configuration in a different context. 

It's refreshing when one can enter the studio and see the work in a new light.

 

You use collage, painting, assemblage, and sculpture in a multidisciplinary approach. Can you explain how each helps you explore themes like identity and place?

Collage is the initiator in my process in that it brings together disparate parts and tries to align them into a new whole. I often think this is something that comes from deep inside me, a sense of misalignment that requires some sort of justification.

Assemblage takes the collage methodology further and into the 3D realm, allowing found objects to sit in an elevated status.

Painting comes from a different place. I often use one continuous medium such as watercolor that offers a fluid sense of repair to everything that has been deconstructed. Sculpture is where I take paper and force it to be seen from all angles.

Currently, I'm using an iron to transfer ink from a magazine page onto rice paper. This method originated from the concept of collage as its raw material. This artwork has the potential to evolve into a larger creative project, such as a performance, a provocation, or a screen for a video.

I'm also enjoying working collaboratively far more these days. 

Nina Fraser at her studio "Atelier Concorde". Photographed by Sarah Kilgallon. All work featured: Nina Fraser

How do your collaborations within communities and artistic associations impact your creative process, and can you share any standout moments from these experiences?

As mentioned above, I've been using my works on paper much more responsively to integrate within an interdisciplinary setting.

Recently, I was selected for a residency in Italy called Mycelium—a transdisciplinary art project initiated and curated by Rapso, a non-profit association based in Bologna, Italy. 

Mycelium draws inspiration from the interconnection of the underground mushroom network, reflecting the power of collaboration and hybridization in the arts with an inclusive and intersectional approach. My two-dimensional work became part of these performances which were also created in response to public engagement, focused specifically on the region of Roccamonfina in Italy.

In terms of community work, I've spent all my working life involved in some sort of community building. I co-founded a nonprofit grassroots arts cafe in 2008 and grew it organically until 2014 when it had over 100 volunteers.

Since living in Portugal, I'm either actively working in studio collectives or, more recently, within a project called Art&craft Refúgio that creates a space of integration within the refugee/migrant community of Lisbon.

I also facilitate a weekly Collage Working Club, leading a diverse group of people who are exploring the artistic medium in a broad sense, teaching what they know to the rest of the group. This expanded view of the process is helping me to see the value of collage as an artistic methodology and a tool for connection, both within communities and in a broader sense. 

 

Could you elaborate on how your art challenges the stability of our constructed reality?

At first, I was drawn to collage as a reflection of the material world—the consumer world—around me, using it as a tool for its rupture.

The illusions created through advertising are easy to pick apart when one spends time with a lot of magazines, and this is what I originally meant by 'constructed reality'. I was drawn to magazine imagery as a reflection of the speed of images passing through our everyday vision and as a way of not becoming too attached to my own work.

But then, in 2020—right in the middle of the pandemic—I lost my house to a gas explosion.

While climbing out of the tatters of the apartment building, I had this uncanny feeling that what I was seeing was a particular image I had made a few months before. It was as if my work was illustrating my life but in reverse order.

Ironically, because none of my work was in that house, I started to think more about its longevity and it became more meaningful.

I understand now that I can use my work to create my own internal stability, and that the process of making helps me become more present and aware in my everyday life. 

Collage also breaks down hierarchies, and mixes up specialisms that would prefer to remain separate—this is very interesting to me. 

 

Nina Fraser, 'Disconnected Event', 76 x 130 cm, 2018

What does success as an artist mean to you? 

Success for me might involve the feeling of waking up with the desire to be in the studio, watching someone enjoying my work enough to buy it, getting an opportunity, or making a new creative connection.

While all of these things are nice, they're fleeting. So, I would say that success becomes more evident when looking at the long-term trajectory of an artist's life.

I think everyone sees success differently—if we think too much about it, we stop working!

I'm interested in the openness of the direction that work can take and allowing myself to enter new territories and always be learning.

There is also a balance between loneliness and community that, if I can get right, lifts me to feel that my art has some sense of purpose. 

 

What impact do you hope your artwork will have on viewers?

I generally try not to think too much about the viewer when I'm in the process.

However, I hope people can see something of the feeling that I am conveying through my creative process. 

 

Could you provide some insights into your creative workspace? How does your physical environment contribute to your artistic process? What about your studio (or wherever you create) deems it as productive? 

My workspace has changed several times over the last ten years, partly due to the fire and finally relocating to a house with a garage.

I used to work in shared artists' studios, which was nice because we helped each other. I am quite private when I'm working, so I prefer a quiet and enclosed space (although I have worked in many spaces that haven't had this and achieved some surprising results).

As I participate in more residencies, I'm enjoying working in a specific place and exploring what this can mean.

But, my studio is my home base. It needs to have a certain degree of light, various tools, and needs to be kept clean. 

Why did you decide to use Artwork Archive to inventory/manage your artwork?

When I was selling prints, I needed something to manage my inventory quickly. It's very handy to store all of my images in the cloud.

Oh, and it's super easy to update my inventory and send a portfolio to a client.

Basically, I like being organized and it saves time!

 

What advice would you give an artist that’s just starting out in their professional career?

Find ways to manage creative blocks and learn tricks that will help you get back into the studio when you know you're procrastinating.

There will be moments of elation and moments of despair.

Make leaps and say yes to everything that comes your way—in time you can refine your practice, but to start with it's a learning game and there is so much to find out.

Don't make work for the world, make work from your world and it will find its way.

Trust the process. 

Nina Fraser at her studio "Atelier Concorde". Photographed by Sarah Kilgallon. All work featured: Nina Fraser​

Nina Fraser uses Artwork Archive to ensure her artwork images are secured, generate professional portfolios for clients, and more.

You can make an online portfolio, catalog your artwork, and generate reports like inventory reports, tear sheets, and invoices in seconds with Artwork Archive. Take a look at Artwork Archive's free trial and start growing your art business.