Karla Nixon
Paper artist
Durban, South Africa
Torn paper mosaics
- Karla’s work is inspired by the run-of-the-mill nature of paper
- She often composes her pieces through torn paper collages
- Her practice was born from street art’s use of paper as stencils
Karla Nixon’s practice explores the symbiosis between article and artifact through wall hangings composed of assembled strips of paper. In 2011, as a fine art student at Durban University of Technology, where she would later lecture, Karla combined the make-do nature of street art with the rigour of fine art. Creating stencils inspired her to look beyond the blank canvas and see paper as the medium itself. "I prefer creating entire bodies of work, viewing singular pieces as just one sentence in what could be a larger tale," she says. She champions paper’s innate accessibility. "Think of oil painting, not everybody gets to touch oil. However, everyone engages with paper,” Karla explains. Today, her work is featured in international private and public collections including the Durban Art Gallery, Art Bank of South Africa and Collection Leridon in Paris.
INTERVIEW
Around 2011, I fell in love with stencils. Making street art fundamentally shifted my creative direction. I originally practiced paper cutting, but now I am exploring paper as a primary art object. My current work examines how to transform paper while preserving its essential nature.
I have always loved creating interesting objects. Growing up in Eswatini, I used to make little fairy gardens. Later at school, we got to make sculptures out of lawn materials. I made a lizard that I was so incredibly proud of.
People are often surprised to learn my work is made of paper. Viewers instinctively reach out to touch the pieces, leading to a moment of discovery when they spot a torn edge. This exposes the raw medium and sparks a realisation: an appreciation for how beautiful, common and universally accessible paper is for everyone.
Stay true to what you believe in. Making a living as an artist can be tricky, but always make space for exploration. Ironically, I am the opposite of what people imagine artists to be: my thinking is quite structured. That is why it is vital for me to create a space that forces me to play and allows the unknown to happen.
Karla Nixon
Paper artist
Durban, South Africa
ADDRESS
Address upon request, Durban, South Africa
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
English
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