nicole ponsart
CERAMIC SCULPTOR
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
My current practice explores the profound connection individuals have with the places they inhabit through the use of speculative mapping, routine collection, cataloging, reflecting, and the recontextualization of space. Rooted in labor-heavy, hands-on, material research my work investigates how the act of beachcombing, a common practice for coastal dwelling inhabitants, is used to develop a deep connection with place, materiality, and local ecology. Growing up on the coasts of British Columbia, Canada, the act of beachcombing involved following tidal lines in search of things of value or interest that could allude to a deeper connection with place. Through the lens of a beach-comber, I utilize models of interaction as a methodology to explore and illustrate time as I navigate and reflect on my new surroundings.
I am continually building upon a living chromatic archive of collected roadside materials that serve as markers for future reflection on my time spent in Arizona. Collected, cataloged, ground down, and transformed, the archive of pigments is a reflection of my interactions with place through the beachcombing of the desert landscape. The hands-on familiarization allows me to develop a deep interpersonal relationship as I explore, collect and document my experience in Arizona. I explore the infinite potential mapping holds by layering extraction-focused, geological survey mapping software with my own GPS-driven maps of personal roadside soil samples. By reflecting critically and acknowledging the frameworks that sparked the initial migration of settlers southwestward, I renegotiate my relationship as an inhabitant of North America and utilize the collection points as markers to reflect back on and create sculptural forms from. My models of interaction are a reflection of the labor involved in beachcombing the desert and an illustration of time, spatial relationality, and the development of alternate, layered systems of knowledge.