Nicole Holbrook

The work I have produced this year discusses current global issues, present now in every household, through the exploration of my own environment.

The main theme explored is the physical and emotional barriers we face, or choose to have, in our lives. While exploring the effects of barriers, I decided to create a social experiment on the Luas in Dublin, forcing people away from one another, and recording their reactions to being separated from one another. This was done before the current Covid-19 restrictions, but now takes on an additional resonance.

The exploration of barriers led me to look at the connections and disconnections around us, including the ones we have with our loved ones, and the effects of connecting and disconnecting from one another.

The images of my environment and the use of found materials to explore these issues have allowed me to communicate a sense of unity and empathy to the viewer and a sense of comfort during these troubling, chaotic and disconnected times.