The Staircase Drawing

Nancy Nightingale is an Artist based in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, who graduated from Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh in 2018, specialising in Painting. Within her practice, Nancy observes how changing daylight transforms space. Within her work, she translates cinematic-like lighting of architectural spaces into blocks of textured marks. Having been diagnosed with Irlen Syndrome at 16, a condition which causes visual stress, Nancy recognised her ability to process light, text and images differed to those around her. She constructs drawings by building blocks of repetitive and heavy linear marks which contrast with the paper they sit on. This mimics the flashing effect she perceives which occurs when reading text, and softer marks mirror the ghostly image that lingers after looking away from a subject. Through her work, Nancy recreates her experience of processing visual information with a heightened sensitivity to light. Nancy’s drawings are process-led which allows for a controlled restriction of information by removing detail, abstracting each space that would usually be regarded as ordinary or routine. The choice of earthy, monochromatic and grayscale tones mirror that of a concrete landscape. Materials are used as a tool for creating visual noise, where quieter moments exist within subtle changes in texture. By abstracting the original space, the artworks capture the mood without need for explicit definition.