Michelle Nikou: Tell it slant

Michelle Nikou is a South Australian-based sculptor who experiments with a diverse range of materials and draws on surrealist techniques to transform everyday domestic objects into sculptures of humour, poignancy and marvel.

Using strategies such as chance, psychological metaphor, deadpan wit and juxtaposition, Nikou inventively blurs and extends the boundaries between fine art and craft. Her work, often formed in lead, bronze, resin, latex and ceramics, invests unremarkable or overlooked facets of daily existence with new and unexpected significance.

The Guildhouse Fellowship was inaugurated in 2019 with the support of the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation to recognise and elevate South Australian artistic ambition. The annual fellowship offers a transformative opportunity for one mid-career South Australian visual artist, craftsperson or designer each year, awarding funding to support research and development, international travel, the creation of new work, and a presentation outcome at AGSA.