Nicola Woodham London, United Kingdom
Nicola Woodham is a live artist bringing together sculptural etextiles, drawing, vocal improvisation and noise. In 2019 she began an intensive journey into creative technology and now hand-makes wearable sensors from electronic textile materials and codes for embodied audio performances. Currently open to invites for opportunities without entry fees.
This journey started with a funded masterclass with performance artists Bishi in February, leading to a Jerwood Bursary (May - October 2019) for mentored R and D, leading to professional development as a lead artist on ‘[de]coding performance’ for women and non- binary artists DIY #16 August 2019 in October Nicola was awarded an Arts Council England grant as part of Developing Your Creative Practice strand. This research has funded her learning in code, design, engineering and music computing and she can now work in a DIY way as a builder of etextile circuits to use in a live art practice.
Pre-Covid, she performed in art galleries and experimental music venues, where she aimed to scale up her audibility and visibility as a disabled woman. In real space/online hybrids she’s enjoying cracking open ways to create presence through haptic feedback and sensory ways to make improvised sounds and movement during her performances. Maximalist in approach, Nicola’s work weaves together disparate threads including the governance of disabled bodies, neutralising trauma through ritual, the slippery source of the voice. She documents her making on https://nicolawoodham.com.
Artwork
Buffer , Etextile wearable for live sound performance, 2021