Nina Mae Fowler (British)
Known for her sumptuously detailed large-scale drawings and installations, Nina Mae Fowler’s work interrogates themes of celebrity, beauty, power and sexuality. Preoccupied with Hollywood’s ‘Golden Age’, Fowler treats the period as a crucible of our own, revelling in its sheer visual richness at the same time as it critiques our culture’s obsession with stardom, as well as the ubiquitous presence of the photographic lens in the reception of imagery.
In 2019, Fowler was awarded a major commission for The National Portrait Gallery. Entitled ‘Luminary Drawings’, the series comprises nine portraits of leading British Film Directors which now form part of the museums permanent collection, including Sam Mendes, Ken Loach, Nick Park and Sally Potter.
Since her nomination for the BP Portrait Prize in 2008, Fowler’s work has won widespread acclaim. It is featured in numerous collections of international significance and in 2015 a monograph of her work entitled Measuring Elvis was published by Cob Gallery, London. The book features
a commentary from an array of cultural luminaries including the curator Sandy Nairne and the playwright Polly Stenham. Her most recent publication Ruined Finery (Cob Gallery 2020) catalogues Fowler’s drawing and sculpture practice from 2015-2020 alongside contributions from writers including Alissa Bennett and Dame Marina Warner.
Nina Mae Fowler (b.1981) has been shortlisted for numerous prestigious prizes and awards, including the Jerwood Drawing Prize (2015 & 2010), Aesthetica Art Prize (2014), Drawing Now Award (2014), Young Masters Prize (2012) and the BP Portrait Award (2008). Her works have been exhibited internationally, including frequent solo exhibitions in London, Paris and Leipzig, and are held in public collections including New, Bailliol and Magdalene Colleges (Oxford, UK), The National Portrait Gallery (London, UK), the ‘Try-me’ collection, a public foundation in Richmond (Virginia, USA) and Fondation d’entreprise Francès (France). In 2018, David Lynch’s establishment Silencio in Paris held a retrospective of Fowler’s work. She is included in private collections throughout Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia. International film, art, music and fashion luminaries such as Sir Ridley Scott, Jude Law, Caroline Issa, Daniel Templon, Laurant Dumas, Roland Mouret and John Maybury are amongst her collectors.
About the Artworks “Soaks away misery” – “Tear” – “Please don’t make me look like a joke” are from the same series.
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These drawings were originally created as part of a suite of illustrations to accompany an essay written by ‘Historian of Bad Behaviour’ Alissa Bennett, published in New York’s Cultured Magazine (2021). The article explores the idea that the Titanic was the original doomed starlet. Nina responded to the text by collaging some of the most famous examples of doomed superstars (Garland and Monroe) onto historical images of the Titanic itself.
We find Garland ‘Soaking away her misery’ (a reference taken from the packaging of the foot soap she carried in her travel bag) in a first class bath of the ship. Fully-clothed she appears dishevelled and anxious. Counter to this we find Monroe in an apparently celebratory mood, drinking a cocktail whilst mounted on a piece of sinister looking gymnasium equipment. The image of her is taken from the vast collection owned by Hugh Heffner. The title of the work ‘Please don’t make me look like a joke’ refers to Monroe’s words to the photographer in one of the final shoots before her death.
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning, for example – Tear. This small image came from an auction website selling a chair which Marilyn posed on for one of her final photo shoots. A small tear in the fabric, allegedly made from her high heel made it all the more desirable, eventually selling for a disproportionate amount. A tear inducing tears.
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