Artist: India Nielsen
Exhibition title: I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It)
Curated by: Jürgen Dehm
Venue: Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf, Germany
Date: April 15 – May 21, 2023
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
In her first institutional solo exhibition, British artist India Nielsen (*1991) presents paintings she created during her residency at the International Künstlerhaus in Schwandorf-Fronberg in the fall of 2002, complemented by small format works on canvas and paper that the artist has produced since returning to London and which reflect on her time in the Upper Palatinate.
India Nielsen is a child of MTV and the internet. Growing up in London in the 1990s and 2000s, she was fascinated by musicians and rappers such as Britney Spears, Eminem, Beyoncé, and Madonna. As a result of her Catholic upbringing, the adolescent Nielsen was also introduced at an early age to otherworldly apparitions and the supernatural powers of saints in the Bible: In particular, the weeping Virgin Mary and the veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus made a strong impression on her and still do.
In her colorful paintings, Nielsen mixes subjective impressions of the present with memories of her childhood, which was shaped by the contemporary pop culture and her Catholic upbringing.
In the works that were created during her residency at the International Künstlerhaus in September and October 2022, the metropolitan artist also incorporated her impressions of the rural Upper Palatinate. The paintings transform Bavarian nature into an uncanny, fantastic world in which colorful hybrid creatures cause havoc, and sometimes even the dead come back to life.
For her exhibition at Kebbel-Villa, Nielsen has chosen a line from the song “Shirt” by the US R&B singer SZA as the title. In the song, SZA alludes to John 12:35 (“Those who walk in the dark don’t know where they’re going.”) and addresses the tension between light and darkness, redemption, and sin in the Bible. Like Nielsen, she combines religious motives with contemporary pop culture.
India Nielsen (b. 1991 in London) studied at The Royal College of Art (2016-18) and Slade School of Fine Art (2012-16) in London. In 2023, Nielsen had her first museum exhibition at Kebbel-Villa in Bavaria, Germany and a solo exhibition with BeAdvisors in Milan, Italy. She will also participate in a group exhibition at Soup gallery in London in 2023. She has been involved in recent group exhibitions at VIN VIN in Vienna, AT, St. Chads Projects, The Function Suite, Paradise Row, V.O Curations, Fitzrovia gallery (London) and Annarumma gallery (Naples) in 2022. Recent solo exhibitions include M is for Madonna, M is for Mariah, M is for Mother at Darren Flook, Crybaby at Imlabor (Tokyo) in 2021 and RedivideR at Platform Southwark (London) in 2020. She also took part in group exhibitions at White Crypt Project Space, Collective Ending (London) and Spazio Amanita x Avant Arte (Florence) in 2021 and at White Columns, curated by Danny Baez, (New York), Roman Road, The Residence Gallery and Southwark Park Galleries (London) in 2020. Her work is held in numerous notable collections, including the Zuzāns Collection, Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga; Sof:Art, Bologna; Collezione Taurisano, Naples; and Maureen Paley, London. She also writes, interviewing other artists for the Imlabor website. She lives and works in London.
India Nielsen, I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It), installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen: To hell with stares (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives), oil on canvas, 180 x 120 cm
India Nielsen, I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It), installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen, I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It), installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen: Time is with me now (Stygian Owl), 2022, oil on canvas, 100 x 80 cm
India Nielsen, I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It), installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen, Fantasea (Azealia Banks), 2023, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 cm
India Nielsen, I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It), installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen, I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It), installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen, He asked me: would you wait for me? (The other one would wait for me), 2022, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 cm
India Nielsen, I’ve got everything that I need and I want more, 2022, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 cm
India Nielsen, I pray to god you’re good for me (I want your bliss on bliss, a little company), 2022, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 cm
India Nielsen, I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It), installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen, From the inside looking out (bats in a cave), 2023, oil on paper, 50 x 40 cm
India Nielsen, There’s more love if you follow emotions, 2023, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 cm
India Nielsen, Kornfeld (Memories feel like weapons), 2022, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 cm
India Nielsen, DANKE, 2022, oil on canvas, 100 x 80 cm
India Nielsen, I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It), installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen, In the dark right now (feeling lost but I like it), 2022, oil on canvas, 180 x 120 cm
India Nielsen, I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It), installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen, Can one be funny when stuck in a room? (Joy ride), 2022, installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen, Bet you you’ll see stars, bet you you’ll go far, bet you you’ll levitate, bet you you’ll meet god, 2023, oil on paper, 50 x 40 cm
India Nielsen, Little clams (HERE WE ARE HERE AND NOW 2023), 2023, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 cm
India Nielsen, Little clams (HERE WE ARE HERE AND NOW 2023), 2023, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 cm
India Nielsen, Young blood thinks there’s always tomorrow (Walhalla), 2023, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 cm
India Nielsen, I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It), installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen, I’m in the Dark Right Now (Feeling Lost but I Like It), installation view 2023, Kebbel-Villa, Schwandorf
India Nielsen, Actions are also feelings (Devour me with certainty), 2023, oil on paper, 50 x 40 cm
India Nielsen, just fell in love and I just quit my job and I’m gonna find new drive, 2023, oil on paper, 50 x 40 cm