Stone Minders references traditional paintings of Christ’s tomb, “where guards that were stationed to watch the tomb, but they fall asleep at some point, so when Christ comes back and walks out, they miss it. I thought that was so amazing, to sleep through such an event. I thought there was a lot there – we sleep through lots of things. Sleep is a big motif in this show – a lot of the works touch on working life, and working is tiring. Life is full of stuff you don’t want to do, and that adds up… It all kind of came from a feeling of empathy for these guards. There’s a lot of recognising the weight of life – it sort of gets stuck to you, on the soles of your shoes, getting heavier and heavier. So forgiveness is the important idea – it’s not wrong for the guards to have slept. It was a sensible thing to do, especially if you’re just watching a rock.

All frames for this show are almost like walls surrounding the works. I wanted to have this feeling of looking into a box, or a diorama. It gives a sense of containment. Throughout my work in general, but more so in this show, there’s a struggle with co-existing – being an object amongst objects. Everything has these outlines and these borders. I think the framing can amplify the idea of that – this isolation, this friction between all the elements in the paintings.”

This is Nicholas’ second solo exhibition with Bowen Galleries.