Nicola Arthen’s practice is an investigation into the mutual relations between the object’s and the human’s capacities, a negotiation between site and experience. By isolating things from their peripheral state and turning them into protagonists, he sets out to discover their abilities to enhance human experience. His installations, sculptures and videos often contribute to a regulated environment, such as bespoke temperature devices or the scripted voice used in car navigation systems.
On the characteristic abilities of art spaces he states that art space serve as a sort of gatekeeper, filtering what of the outside world is allowed to enter and what not. As opposed to our daily living environments, where this type of filtering seems clearly harder to manage. ‘This is something if find hard to take for granted, especially in this time.’