Trinity (2023)

Following centuries-long tradition of the representation of the female torso in art, Trinity, thanks to the meticulous assembly of hundreds of metal scraps, all hand cut into small triangles, welded end-to-end, forms the shell of an otherwise hollowed out but recognizable female torso. With his use of reclaimed materials and bold geometric forms, an emphasis on construction stripped of any ornamentation, Nicholls broadly adheres to the concepts behind Brutalist architecture. With an uncompromising stance towards the discarded industrial by-products he uses as raw material, Nicholls shows once again his preference for recuperation, alteration and recontextualization.

Trinity becomes a natural part of the long-standing tradition of artists’ fascination with the human form. With its iconic title, he recalls the female archetypes of mother, maiden and crone, yet hollows out all original meaning leaving only fragments left of their former self. To accentuate the dehumanization of womanhood, the artist has left pieces seemingly dissolving in space, leaving behind a trail of unfinished parts.

With this life-size, free-standing sculpture, the artist calls the viewer’s attention to what is left behind by a political discourse which struggles to define what a woman is. The hollowed, fragmented, yet immediately recognizable silhouette, is the artist’s ultimate feminist response to an ambivalent response to proper gender identification.