Nicole Ekström
Déjà Vu
My name is Nicole Ekström and I have made paintings since the young age of about two years old. It is something I knew I had needed to do before I could even conceptualize the idea of picking something to pursue for the rest of my life. This burning passion for creating is a fire that has been in my soul since I could remember. Life has brought me on a journey of ups and downs where I have taken comfort in believing in something beyond the physical existence of people. I am making paintings with the idea that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience, and find a sense of belonging in the phrase by Alan Watts: “We are the Universe experiencing itself”.
Artist/Thesis Statement
“Déjà Vu” is a word borrowed from the French language meaning “already seen”. It is the title of this piece as it was created with this feeling in mind. I wanted to explore the feeling of something that is familiar but also foreign at the same time. The unexplainable, “I’ve been here before” feeling you get from seeing something but not fully understanding where, how or why you have. This piece is a temple within me. It is a space created to bring back that sense of Deja vu; to transcend the viewer into a space similar to an underwater oasis of peace adjacent to a place such as Atlantis. Not all of the pieces of the temple are here because within that Deja vu there are holes and gaps to be filled, confusion and frustration around not knowing or seeing the whole picture. It is a puzzle with parts of it missing; a feeling of being left in the dark.
As an artist I am creating work that aims to figure out my relationship to the idea of spirituality. Through the creation of these works, I am unpacking my beliefs and evaluating my connection to these beliefs. I incorporate ink wash and oil paint to create scenes of beings that breathe their essence into their atmosphere. I find comfort in the idea of something greater beyond the physical form. Believable or not, it benefits me and has shaped me into who I am and what I chose to explore in my paintings.
