Windmaker, 2007 – running time 10:58 mins
A woman struggles to find her place in the relationship to the infinite nature.
direction and editing: Kika Nicolela
performer: Luciana Canton
director of photograph: Ching C. Wang
music: Thierry Gauthier & Delphine Meas
Flux, 2005 – running time 11:09 mins
A body defies its exterior; wanders through the path from the impotency to the vital force. It gradually fuses with the elements around it – a clay building, a valley, a river – striving to balance the inner and outer world.
direction: Kika Nicolela & Suzy Okamoto
performer: Leticia Sekito
director of photography: Ching C. Wang &Kika Nicolela
editing: Kika Nicolela
music: Ruria Duprat
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
Best Experimental Video at the CineAmazonia International Festival of Environmental Films
Honorary Award at the Sopot Independent Film Festival
Finalist of the Best Experimental Film Award of the Izmir Short Film Festival
I work primarily with video and photography.
I’m concerned with examining the connections between the camera, subject, author and viewer. I’m interested in issues such as the construction of identity, communication and voyeurism. I also investigate how the relationship between our body and the surrounding world (ie. nature or urban settings and culture) shapes our identity.
My greatest challenge is to find new forms of narrative by confronting established film language. I construct narratives, strategies and perceptions of reality, in search of fresh ways to connect with the viewer, defying his/her own perception of the world and proposing thought-provoking sensorial and emotional experiences.
Windmaker … 1.4 – 1.17.2010
Flux … 1.18 1.30.2010
Atrium Gallery – Western Michigan University
Born in 1976, Kika Nicolela is a Brazilian new media artist. Her works include single-channel videos, video installations, performances, experimental documentaries and photography.
Graduated in Cinema and Video by the University of Sao Paulo in 2000, Kika Nicolela also completed film courses at UCLA – University of California in 2002. Since then, she has developed her personal works, which have been screened and awarded in festivals of more than 30 countries, such as: Videoformes New Media & Video Art Festival (France), Kunst Film Biennale (Germany), ACA Media Arts Festival (Japan), VAD Festival Internacional de Vídeo i Arts Digitals (Spain), International Electronic Art Festival Videobrasil (Brazil), AluCine Toronto Latin@ Media Festival (Canada) and Exis Experimental Film & Video Festival (Korea).
In 2005, her first feature film, the documentary “Woman Cries Out!”, received the award of Best Film at both the festivals CineEsquemaNovo (Brazil) and Cineport (Portugal). UNESCO also nominated the same film for the Breaking The Chains Award.
She has participated of about 30 solo and collective exhibitions in Brazil, USA, Canada, France, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Sweden.
She won the following grants: Support to Production in Visual Arts from São Paulo Arts Council, Support to Production from Recife Art Week, Exhibition Program by São Paulo Cultural Center and Cultural Diffusion and Exchange Program of the Brazilian Ministry of Culture. She received nominations for the Sergio Motta Award of Art and Technology (2007) and the Nascente Art Award (2000). She was selected for the Sumu artist-in-residence 2009 program, in Finland.
Currently Kika Nicolela also coordinates the EXQUISITE CORPSE VIDEO PROJECT, a collaborative series of videos that envolves 36 artists from 15 countries.
Kika Nicolela – Sao Paulo Brazil
I absolutely love this video. Each image presented really is strong enough to stand on its own, they are very intriguing. I also love the use of color. The background is all very plan and dark, making the red accents really pop introducing very strong visuals.
Windmaker: I enjoyed the fact that the darkness created a sense of mystery but it got a bit too dark at times where I had no clue what I was watching. It was interesting but rather repetitive. I really liked the end of the video. I almost wish we could have seen more visuals similar to that.