Magazine “Le Courrier de la Nature” (Scientific monthly review) May-June 2019 -N°316 “The poetry of abandoned objects” Text and photos by Nicole King.
The gesture of recycling our waste has long been an underlying theme of Nicole King’s art work since she began painting 30 years ago. In partnership with the Lycée Jeanne d’Albret ( high school ) in St Germain-en-Laye, and the enthusiastic participation of the French teacher’s ( A. Fouilloux ) students, Nicole animated an art recycling workshop.
“ To create something from nothing,” was first declared by the French artist Monod in 1969, when speaking of recycled art.
Either by transforming large mustard containers from the school cafeteria into *penguins, or stringing plastic bottle caps into striped sea snakes, the students became actors in a learning experience, both scientific and practical.
“It is this type of artistic pedagogy“, Nicole King reminds us, “which can influence younger generations by helping them to realize the importance of ecology.
The threats experienced, the questions raised have already had an important impact on how we manage our natural resources : biodiversity, pollution, and fossil fuel depletion. “
These “created from nothing“ penguins, sea snakes and octopuses were all exhibited in conjunction with N. King’s one woman show at the Jean Vilar Cultural Center, Marly-Le-Roi in June, 2019.
Nicole King
*In 35 years, the population of penguins on the Crozet archipelago, has dropped 88%, from 500,000 couples to 60,000.
