Watery Bodies by Jill Nuckles
Jill Nuckles
Watery Bodies
SITE #2
City Hall
Monday-Friday: 8:00am-6:00pm
Saturday-Sunday & Holidays: 10am-6pm
In the vastness of the water cycle, why do humans feel they have ownership and control over water? What right do we have to mistreat water, and how do we learn to live communally in this watery world? We have come from water, and we need water to survive. Life is entirely dependent on water, and when we left the oceans to live on land, we folded water inward to carry the ocean within our bodies.
Jill Nuckles, Watery Bodies, 2024, Indigo dyed silk, recycled sari silk, recycled box lashing, cotton embroidery thread. Photo credit Jeff Yee
ARTIST STATEMENT
“Body and water are not two unlike things—they are more than close together or side by side. They are same—body, being, energy, prayer, current, motion, medicine.”
— Natalie Diaz, The First Water is the Body
My artistic interest lies in subtle acts of resistance, connecting with one thing at a time, be it a person, an emotion, or another being. It is through intimate moments of conversation (visually, through my artwork, or directly with me) that common ground can be established and complex subjects discussed. By presenting ideas in a seemingly simple format, a feedback loop forms for me, each step feeding the next. I find meaningful dialogue when a community develops around shared knowledge and then becomes absorbed in shared artifacts that relate to their lives and memories. My work explores the discourse on hierarchy and how we value and dominate more-than-human worlds.
Watery Bodies is inspired by our interconnectedness with water. I have been layering silk on linen, loosely weaving in collected odds and ends with threads that trace the echoes of natural and disturbed watercourses. Each piece is a multilayered exploration of line and space —a map showing our entanglements, engagement, and interdependence with a watery world. A whisper of watery light emanates from within and around, drawing the eye in and establishing a rhythm. Simple lines of running stitches evoke rivers as veins connecting the world, pulsing in and out of view, moving along parallel and divergent paths. There is a void, an ‘emptiness’ where only a single line of stitches runs; this breaks the rhythm created by the multitude of other lines and forms a disruption in the natural course by something unseen. Loose threads left at both ends search for lost connections. The viewer knows there must be more and that something has been broken. And now the conversation can begin….
ABOUT THE ARTIST
At her core, Jill Nuckles is a participant and observer of wild spaces. She is a collector of texture, light, and the hum of the natural world, and never outgrew the feeling of excitement from just being outside. Her whimsical work pays homage to these spaces, and her art practice is an invitation to join her as she weaves intricate narratives about the more-than-human world.
Jill is a mixed-media sculptor who lives in Calgary, AB Canada, on Treaty 7 territory. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in Sculpture from the Alberta University of the Arts. Always curious about new techniques and materials, she has continued to learn and grow her career through numerous workshops and residencies. Jill is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts from the University of New Mexico.