Covergirl AdhesivesNabilah Nordin

7 February - 29 February, 2020

https://comagallery.com/exhibition/fishers-of-men/

COMA is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work by Australian Singaporean artist Nabilah Nordin - her first solo

with the gallery - titled Covergirl Adhesives.

This new body of work is concerned with celebrating surface, texture and colour. Functioning on an immediate, visceral

level the sculptures act as both stand-alone objects and work to convey the rigorous labour that goes into them. To achieve

a finish and to create a final appearance, whether it is shiny and glossy or activated through globules and ridges, the

physical undertaking for Nordin is enormous. These processes - sweeping, sawing, drilling, mixing - are embedded in the sculptures, something the viewer may or may not discern

when presented with only the final layer.

In Covergirl Adhesives, Nordin is actively challenging the commonly-held assumption that to appreciate a surface, or

an appearance is a superficial act. To the artist the surface of an artwork is like a performance, and one that conceals the

labour that maintains it. In their natural state the materials of these works experiece cracking, crumbling and loss of shape. It takes this performance of sorts, the laying of adhesives and

holding matter, to keep them composed and contained.

The title, Covergirl Adhesives, speaks to the labour required to prop up appearances. It expresses feelings of materiality, personal processes and the glossy final image itself. It also

presents a certain aesthetic – a sleek, photographic, sparkling appearance that is, ironically, made from construction and everyday materials – cement, paint, wood, wire and metal.

Nabilah NordinMetal Facial, 2020reinforcement bar, chicken wire, cement, house paint33 x 33 x 20 cm12 31/32 x 12 31/32 x 7 7/8 inches

Nabilah NordinGlycerol, 2020copper pipe, chicken wire, cement, house paint, liquid gloss resin40 x 28 x 23 cm15 3/4 x 11 x 9 1/16 inches

Nabilah NordinMoisture Trap, 2020welded metal, chicken wire, cement, house paint, polyurethane75 x 14 x 38 cm29 1/2 x 5 33/64 x 14 15/16 inches

Nabilah NordinButterstick, 2020welded metal, chicken wire, cement, house paint, liquid gloss resin42 x 32 x 19 cm16 1/2 x 12 9/16 x 7 15/32 inches

Nabilah NordinExcess Management, 2020welded metal, chicken wire, cement, house paint, oil bar54 x 52 x 17 cm21 1/4 x 20 1/2 x 6 11/16 inches

“Sculptural form is integral to my practice. The shapes I

create are like letters in an alphabet which I use to

invent new words.”

Nabilah NordinPumice Tint, 2020chicken wire, cement, yarn, house paint, spray paint42 x 32 x 19 cm16 1/2 x 12 9/16 x 7 15/32 inches

Nabilah NordinBackstage Mull, 2020welded metal, chicken wire, cement, house paint, mosaic tile47 x 34 x 14 cm18 1/2 x 13 25/64 x 5 1/2 inches

Nabilah NordinGarden, 2020welded metal, chicken wire, cement, house paint, spray paint, rocks33 x 23 x 12 cm13 x 9 1/16 x 4 23/32 inches

Nabilah NordinCream Essence, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint, spray paint167 x 36 x 29 cm65 3/4 x 14 5/32 x 11 27/64 inches

Nabilah NordinBackbone, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint40 x 28 x 23 cm15 3/4 x 11 1/32 x 9 1/16 inches

Nabilah NordinStiffening, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint118 x 29 x 50 cm46 15/16 x 11 27/64 x 19 11/16 inches

Covergirl to me is about putting on a show, to be looked at and objectified and appreciated for surface appearance, for external qualities, for pictorial elements. It is posing for a photograph, flashy lights, the artificial.

Nabilah NordinFeatherstone, 2020cement, house paint, welded metal, chicken wire, liquid gloss resin140 x 80 x 60 cm55 1/8 x 31 1/2 x 23 5/8 inches

Nabilah NordinMelon Weight, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint46 x 156 x 26 cm18 3/32 x 61 27/64 x 10 15/64 inches

Nabilah NordinCrust Control, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint49 x 47 x 26 cm19 19/64 18 1/2 x 23 5/8 x 10 15/64 inches

Nabilah NordinSupermud, 2020foam, chicken wire, cement, house paint,oil pastels, liquid gloss resin40 x 55 x 35 cm15 3/4 x 21 21/32 x 13 25/32 inches

Nabilah NordinTabletop Hysteria, 2020wood, chicken wire, cement, house paint58 x 92 x 53 cm22 13/16 x 36 7/32 x 20 27/32 inches

“Nordin’s work is a celebration of surface texture; rough and bruaque and hard and soft and honest

and felt.”- Isobel Parker Philip

Art Gallery of New South Wales

First Floor, 71-73 Stanley StreetDarlinghurst, NSW, 2010

Australiainfo@comagallery.com

+61 2 8316 3592