Nichole DeMent
Future Memory
Nichole DeMent’s encaustic portraits celebrate the inner landscapes of her subjects and reveal aspects of her own creative subconscious.
- March 5 - 26, 2020
- Opening: Thursday, March 5
Guided Meditation: Monday, March 9, 12-1:30pm
We often forget the magic we knew and felt as children. Nichole DeMent’s current body of work is a culmination of decades of trying to conjure the innocence, lightness, joy, and trust she entered the world with—before suffering, hardship, and loss became routine.
“While I cannot remember my three imaginary friends from childhood, I am slowly reconnecting with the images and power of a rich inner landscape,” she says. “I begin each piece with the hope that my creative subconscious will teach me something about myself.”
DeMent uses organic beeswax and resin to fuse irregular sheets of rice paper printed with photographs of her subjects. She then introduces found and symbolic materials like thread, bones, and map fragments. The resulting multi-layered, wall-filling portraits are deeply personal, developed with knowledge gained from close relationships, shared meditations, and astrological readings. Animals featured in the work represent natural and untamed ways of being, the instinctual drive to protect our emotional self and our loved ones.
As archetypes, the images should feel familiar. The multiplicity of life and universal truths are emphasized, with grounding in natural law and a reverence of nature.
About the Artist
Nichole DeMent is an artist, independent cultural producer, teacher, and creativity coach with a passion for strengthening communities and helping people live purposeful lives. She endeavors to engage the human spirit with her photo-based encaustic constructions.
DeMent received a BA in Photography and Art History from The Evergreen State College. Her work has been exhibited widely and is included in numerous public and private collections including the Swedish Medical Center Art Collection.