Nicole Dextras: When art follows the seasons

Nicole Dextras is an artist whose artworks follow natural cycles, such as the seasons, working with ice in the winter and plant materials in the summer, and the decomposition of organic matter. She records the passage of time inherent in her ephemeral installations through photographs that she later exhibits. (+) "My focus as an artist is to create environmental art and ephemeral installations based on the principles of a socially engaged art practice", says Dextras. (+)

She also states that her current art practice is rooted in the environmental art movement. "It is based on the theories of seminal artists such as Joseph Beuys’ notion of “infiltration”, which integrates art and social change, as well as Robert Smithson’s “nonsite” theory, which challenged the parameters of the conventional gallery setting." (+)

Working with ice, Dextras has produced a well-known set of work called the "Ice Typography" series, which consists of "three-dimensional words fabricated in ice placed outdoors that speak to how the viewer’s gaze frames and informs the landscape. The installations have varied from 8-foot high ice letters on the Yukon River to 18-inch high letters set in downtown Toronto. When the ice texts are installed on site, the temperature determines how long it will take for them to change state from solid to liquid. This phase of transition becomes symbolic of the interconnectedness of language and culture to the land as they are affected by time and by a constant shifting and transforming nature. (+)

The use of text in the landscape relates to concrete and visual poetry but with the added twist of having the word’s meaning alter with the melting process. Sometimes the words relate directly to the landscape such as “silence” where the bucolic idealism of nature is transformed by the sound of the crashing waves behind it. Some words reference art history such as “Reason” which was based on Joyce Weiland’s 1968 ironic quilt that reads: Reason over Passion. Here the passion of nature erodes reason slowly but surely. Other words such as “View” signify an environmental statement warning of man’s encroachment on the land and how we consume space with our gaze. The work also pays homage to the N. E. Thing Company who in the nineteen-seventies put up signs along roads instructing drivers to: “Start Viewing” and “Stop Viewing” the landscape." (+)

Dextras adds to her statment about the Ice Typography series that "the visual poetry in this series aims to subvert the authority of the English language and the commerce of signage by representing words as vulnerable and shifting. Ice Typography absorbs light, melts and eventually leaves no trace; these words have more in common with dreams and oral stories than linear language. Words cast in ice interrupt our literal narratives, allowing a more integrated reading of the land we inhabit, as opposed to the past and current commodification of land as limitless resource. This fundamental split in perception lies at the crux of our environmental crisis. [She] therefore chooses to create within an ephemeral vernacular to accentuate the collective physical and psychological experience of flux and change." (+)

Inspired by the winter, Dextras also has produced the "Iceshifts" which consists of a series of garments and plants frozen in blocks of ice that are photographed. Dextra says that: "The clothing in this series is deconstructed to allow for a more complex reading of the figure. For instance I may add plant material as a way of rooting the body to the land or use nylon stockings as arms or bras as wings as a metaphor for the multilayered aspects of the self." (+)

"Although frozen in time, the garments appear to dance, simultaneously forming and deforming, like unmasked shape shifters. This work also revisits the theory of Deconstruction as it pertains to fashion, pointing to the incongruity of applying such a theoretic movement to what is in essence an industry based on consumption. Therefore the Iceshifts series supports the emergence of handcrafted clothing and the small runs of the current DIY movement, unraveling consumer culture one stitch at a time." (+)

Shifting her production to summer mode, Dextras has produced the "Weedrobes" series which is a series of garments created from plants, flowers, branches, and sometimes stitched with thorns. "The intention of the Weedrobes series is to engage the public on several levels: through street interventions, garden settings and gallery exhibitions. Each new piece begins as a wearable sculpture constructed from local and renewable plant materials. It is then photographed with a model in a landscaped urban setting emphasizing the impact of humans on the natural environment. The third stage consists of a public intervention in a shopping area where the garment wearer engages with passersby regarding issues of disposable consumer goods. The garment/sculpture is later installed in a garden or park setting and left to decompose over time." (+)

Dextras explains: "The decaying aspect of my art is very much part of the process. My artwork is about having an authentic experience of nature, one where we are not separate from the natural world and one where there is beauty in all of life's cycles. [...] The modern expectation of humans staying perpetually youthful and fresh is not only unrealistic but the cosmetics and fashion industries are laughing at us all the way to the bank.(+)

She also says that "the Weedrobes philosophy is based on being a free thinker, creating one’s own sense of style while also raising awareness about the impact of industry on our eco-system. Our most effective tool for change is for consumers to demand more equitable products. It may be impractical to wear clothing made with leaves but our future depends on the creation of garments made from sustainable resources." (+)