General News
17 April, 2023
Street art sparks reunion for two talented artists
A prominent Wimmera artist returned to Horsham recently to recreate some of her gallery work - on the walls of an electric box outside the Aquatic Centre. And she was being assisted by a young local art student who would love to follow in her...
A prominent Wimmera artist returned to Horsham recently to recreate some of her gallery work - on the walls of an electric box outside the Aquatic Centre.
And she was being assisted by a young local art student who would love to follow in her brushstrokes.
Nichola Clarke earned a name for herself while living in Horsham from the early 2000s to 2015.
"Horsham is still very close to my heart," she said.
"I worked on festivals, with people with disabilities, at the TAFE and high school and lots of places.
"And over the years, I've had exhibitions here. I've been a full-time professional artist doing my own public art and murals and sculptures."
The electric box mural is a component of the Public Art Box Gallery Project for Horsham Rural City Council.
"I've done these paintings 10 years ago for the Horsham gallery and three of those pieces I have included on the wall here," she said.
Nichola also created a concrete lizard for Natimuk Primary School, murals at the hospital and in the town's main street.
"Most recently, I completed a dementia-friendly artwork while working with a special needs school in Stawell," she said.
"We took their designs and little drawings and reproduced them into really beautiful natives.
"The elephant sculpture was when I was working with Uniting Wimmera, and it was for adults with mental illness.
"That was a fantastic project because it brought people with mental illness together."
Helping out on the electric box painting is Annika Livingstone, also an aspiring artist.
"Annika is one of my best friend's daughters and is like family to me," Nichola said.
"She's finished high school and now she's getting some painting experience. She's extremely skillful and very intelligent."
Annika studied the arts in high school, and completed studio arts in Year 12.
"Working with Nikki is interesting, as our artistic approaches are different," she said.
"Nichola has been doing this for a while. I'm simply assisting her by blocking some base parts.
"She will be able to do all of her intricate tasks faster as a result. It's going pretty good."
Annika is taking a gap year from studies to further her art.
"I'm definitely interested in exploring it a bit more," she said.
"I got into the RMIT's Media course but I'm deferring for a year to go around and do other things and have fun.
"I do a lot of sketching and painting. I mainly do portraiture, just faces and stuff."
And she loves the fact she is helping to leave her own mark on the streetscape.
"I definitely encourage people to explore their own interests and their values and for the town," she said.
"Painting is a really good way to communicate different feelings and emotions."