Based in Edinburgh for the last 15 years, Everlyn Nicodemus shares her first retrospective account of her work since the 1980s with a series of paintings, collages, sketchbooks and sculpture at the Modern One gallery.
Nicodemus was born in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in 1954, but was married and educated in Sweden. Her work began as a response to the racism she experienced there, but makes a comment on racism, feminism and religion cross-culturally.
She works with paintings of abstract and natural forms, particularly in her “Wedding” series, including religious and feminist motifs. As well as this, there are collaged books in the centre of the same room showing her impressive range of work.
The exhibition spans 10 large rooms and the variety is overwhelming, but the layout of the exhibition shifts topics and mediums, so the viewer doesn’t lose themselves in the sheer amount of work.
At the same time, her work maintains a stream of continuity. Nicodemus writes that her art is a method to “communicate, break down barriers, and inevitably find common ground,” an empathetic narrative that is so important at a time where borders and barriers are evermore present. She connects these themes with the subject matter of mental health, or work created during COVID. The raw and human approach to her subject matter means that despite one’s individual experience, there is healing to be found within Nicodemus’ exhibition. This exhibition is open until the 25th of May 2025.
Image credit: Everlyn Nicodemus, Silent Strength 38, 1990. Copyright the Artist, Courtesy Richard Saltoun Gallery London and Rome