by Jane Churchill

It was towards the end of high school when Nirvana really began to develop her style as an artist. Nirvana describes the “tipping point” to be a year 10 art assignment where she was required to appropriate an Archibald prize winner. “I chose Del Kathryn Barton, and that piece completely changed my style,” she explains. Although Nirvana grew up with a creative education at a Steiner School and later Brisbane’s Music Industry College, it wasn’t until she created that piece that she ever considered her art beyond the parameters of a casual hobby. In Nirvana’s final year of high school, her work was exhibited at the Ipswich Art Gallery. “I like to call myself a closet artist, so that was the first time I had ever seen people react to my work. The reception was overwhelming,” she explains. “I was kind of just hiding in the corner, watching them. It was a really fundamental, life-changing moment for me.”

The way Nirvana’s art has evolved has also meant changes to the materials she likes to work with. “I used to use a lot of Indian ink, acrylic and fine pens. I also used a lot of paper. I predominately painted on paper in the past because I found it so much easier to manipulate the inks with. I would lay down the ink and then once it dried, I would put water droplets on it and dab it with a tissue and create lighter areas.” Nirvana explains that she is now transitioning to working with canvas and is really enjoying it so far. “It’s much harder to achieve the detail I usually like to aim for in my paintings. I like a lot of detail, but it's also changing my style in a really nice way, because I'm simplifying my paintings, but still holding a lot of structure and detail. It’s easier on the eye because there's more contrast - there's more negative space, and that gives your eye a break, because my earlier stuff is completely chaotic.”

A theme that follows throughout Nirvana’s work is the way she creates “subconsciously.” She never begins a piece with an end goal in mind. Instead, she likes to channel her “interests, thoughts, dreams, feelings and inspirations,” and then learn about the pieces she creates through other people’s interpretations of them. “I was told a couple of years ago that my work is very shrine-like. There’s usually a centrepiece, and there is always something at the base, but it's all encapsulated in this kind of shrine shape. There's a lot of shrine themes as well, like candles, crosses, skulls, flowers and flames. So that was an awesome reflection to have about my work. Just realising the recurring theme that I had that kind of just subconsciously developed.” Nirvana adds that although it’s hard to define her style as an artist, she’s always incorporated “a presence of darkness,” even in her earliest work.

After those reflections, Nirvana became fixated on South American, but predominately Mexican, Catholic shrines. “When I travelled through Mexico and parts of South America two years ago, I went to every church I could. These shrines, you could almost call them tacky. A lot of them had diamontes, sparkles, tinsel and fairy lights, and they were in these glass cabinets with all these fake flowers. I completely resonated with the whole blend of crass with spirituality.”

Nirvana’s fascination with Mexican shrines has led her to explore different South American religious figures. She explains her interest with a Mexican religious saint Santa Muerte. “Santa Muerte is this female deity, and essentially the Mexican folk version of the Grim Reaper.  Essentially, she’s the holy lady of death. I find beauty in figures that symbolise death. The notions that surround the Grim Reaper, the devil, the darkness and Santa Muerte herself. I’m fascinated by the celebration of darkness in Mexico, as the Mexican Culture inspires an acceptance of death as a natural part of the human cycle. Instead of fearing death, they use these celebrations to dance with the souls of their loved ones.”

God is Dog is a shrine piece that explores the two bases from which we build our entire lives; faith and fear. Nirvana observes religion with deep fascination. She entertains the idea that heaven and hell is a tool used to convey faith and fear, and that without one another, they cease to exist. God is Dog invites the viewer to fantasise that the gatekeeper to these worlds is merely just a figure of our imagination; or perhaps, our conditioning. In this painting, heaven is represented by a cloaked Doberman whose holy hands enclose the hearts of mankind, as humanity is blindly suspended between the heavenly skies and the depths of the underworld. The Aboriginal impressions symbolise and acknowledge a deeper connection to our source, one that resides with mother nature and speaks to the boundless universe. Nirvana asks the question: as we place our lives into the hands of God, do we surrender responsibility for our reality?  

It took Nirvana a year, on and off, to complete God is Dog, which is the longest it has ever taken her to finish an artwork. Normally, Nirvana works in short creative bursts. “I like to work for ten hours straight. Just painting. I won't see anybody all day. I'll get up, paint, and then go to bed.  I'll probably eat once during that time...” Nirvana also believes her process is impacted by being a Gemini and “having seven different personalities. Sometimes it feels like seven different people have starting painting,” she says, laughing. 

Reflecting on her place as an emerging artist, Nirvana sometimes feels quite isolated from the art world, despite her recognisable talent. “I have never studied art, except in high school, and I feel like there’s not a whole lot of space for people like us, because the art world is so cliquey and credential-based for something so creative. I'm fortunate enough to have made connections and friends in my life that have helped me along my artistic path, but it's hard without that fine arts degree to be taken seriously, and getting any traction within the established art world seems unattainable. It would be cool to have more exposure on physical and digital platforms to support young emerging artists, with or without a degree. I would also like to see more from artist management agencies and galleries, as they can play a significant role in guiding young artists to develop their art careers and organise their business.”

For commissions and originals, or to simply see more of Nirvana’s work, head to her Instagram page @nirvana.selwood.