Anica Neiman: Paper Thin Walls
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Harcourt House Artist Run Centre 10215 112 Street - 3rd flr, Edmonton, Alberta T5K 1M7

Anica Neiman, "Parameters II," 2020
oil, acrylic, and cold wax on unstretched canvas; 60” x 72”. Photo by Anica Neiman.
Paper Thin Walls is an ongoing series of paintings and drawings recently created by Anica Neiman, an Edmonton-based visual artist and art educator. The series explores moments of empathy and love in the midst of ecological grief. This body of work articulates an interest in symbiotic associations, as well as a desire to explore materiality in a way that hints at a loss of control. Recognizing that the climate is constantly in flux, and witnessing that our worlds are becoming more unfamiliar, we are confronted with experiences of isolation and bereavement. As Donna Haraway states in Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene, “Grief is a path to understanding entangled and shared living and dying; human beings must grieve with, because we are in and of this fabric of undoing” (39). By welcoming the difficulties of loss within her work, Anica Neiman strives to have a deeper comprehension of what tenderness and empathy look like in the face of uncertainty and crisis. The narratives in her paintings do not end in dread but convey a hope for genuine connection as a way to soothe distress.
The surreal nature of these paintings and drawings reflects the anxieties caused by losing a sense of “normalcy” and control in our day to day. In her work, Anica Neiman creates plant and animal hybrids in imaginary ecosystems. The spaces the artist renders are immersive, brutal, and glow with radioactive colors. Trickling throughout these environments are fusions of microbial fungal systems and spineless sea creatures. They’re representative of the wonders and terrors of symbiotic entanglements, and craft ambiguous narratives centered around these relationships. While developing these stories, Neiman allows the paint to bleed and seep past the edges of the canvas. The ripples cause the creatures to melt, blurring boundaries between body and a sweltering world. As they navigate their surroundings, the artist imagines that the hybrids are trying to satisfy a deep craving for connection but may not know how. In the artist’s view, they embody both apprehension and tenderness while retaining their vulnerability. As they awkwardly grab, suckle, and nestle into one another, they try to fulfill their needs for safety and solace.
Artist’s Biographical Note
Anica Neiman is an emerging visual artist based in Edmonton and recent BFA graduate from the University of Alberta. She is currently living in Amiskwaciwâskahikan / Edmonton and is maintaining an active studio practice outside of art school. Presently, Anica Neiman is teaching at the Nina Haggerty Centre in Edmonton and is running an art program in partnership with Skills Society and the YMCA.
In her practice, she uses painting to navigate her own feelings of self-love, existential dread, and empathy. Her work explores the wonders and terrors of symbiotic entanglements and a desire for connection in the midst of grief. Most recently, Anica has shown her work in a solo exhibition, In Touch at Soft Gallery. She also participated in Mitchell Art Gallery’s 2020 Mentorship Exchange Program and has exhibited in group shows such as Incidental Folds with SNAP Gallery, and in Schmoozy 2020 at Latitude 53.
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