Nicole Leonardo

nicole leonardo in Conversation with JessiCa BeCkwith

Jessica Beckwith: I’m curious about the materials themselves that you use and your process of finding yourself in or through those materials. Absence and presence—how does that dichotomy play into your work? There is a phenomenological presence in the material that you pick and even the conversation that takes place between your hands and body in the making of your work with that material. Are you aware of that silent dialog? Is there a thread that connects to a broader cultural dialog there or is there a more personal healing process taking place in the making?

Nicole Leonardo: At one point during the making of my thesis, I began shooting polaroids. There was a powerful feeling of nostalgia within the physicality of the polaroids which began to successfully portray my visions from the past. I wanted to acknowledge the falseness that exists within my memories of my parents through the act of collaging these slightly obscured polaroid images. The images contain elements such as color, similar to that of the eye but somewhat off, as if from a dream, and furthering the idea of a faulty recollection. I felt this longing for my parents – this need to patch together the recycled parts of who I believe they used to be. I began to find meaning in physically patching together the memories of my parents that live inside of my head. It really became an act of healing for me. The images were peeled, soaked, and collaged together in hopes of alluding to the misrepresentation of memory over time through their fragility and inevitable distortion when adhered to paper. They would rip, fold and sometimes grow in size, ultimately becoming something different than what they initially seemed to be.

Untitled (left) Image transfer on paper

Nicole Leonardo

BFA Photography