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Nikki Apse
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Nikki Apse
A practising graphic designer and art director, Nikki Apse has spent over a decade in the commercial realm of design and advertising, working on projects for a diverse collection of clients ranging from big brands to the boutique.
One piece in the Topography series, Departing Waiheke, is a retrospective of several years spent living on Waiheke Island where the culture, land and seascape left an indelible impression.
A narrative about an Island bus journey, the title alludes to Apse’s departure south in 2006. This work and subsequent works in the series explores the notion of quintessential Kiwi life and icons from New Zealand’s cultural heritage.
A recurring theme is a raw, bold typographic aesthetic set amongst an abstract landscape of geometric plains of colour. A twist on the word typography, the Topography series is employed as a metaphor for New Zealand cultural ‘maps’ and the ‘surface features’ of paint on board and canvas.
The dialogue is often nostalgic in tone evoking New Zealand tourism posters from the 50’s and 60’s. Metaphor abounds.
Apse's works explore contrast – hard and soft, large scale and small scale, the nostalgic and the contemporary, the dark and the saccharine, adding and stripping away – imbued with a sense of irony, humour and double entendre.
Colour is a central compositional element. When the palette is reduced to monotones it is usually a deliberate attempt to convey an underlying feeling or idea.
“I approach my paintings much the same way as I would begin the process of creating a piece of graphic communication – with a strong concept or story. What I find refreshing about the conceptual development and execution of fine art is the absence of the fundamental requirement to answer a brief and the often crass commercialism of ‘the pitch’. Without these restraints the process becomes much more liberated. The artwork can evolve as it is created and instead of being directed towards an end point, the viewer has the freedom to interact and respond in their own personal way. I think the best work always leaves something to the imagination.” Nikki Apse
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