Nancy Whiston is a contemporary art curator and graphic designer who upholds the philosophy that art and design should be felt as much as seen. Her work explores the intersections of sensory perception and spatial transformation.
Nancy's work explores world-building, audience participation, and the effects of temporal dissolution on perception. She employs sensory modalities such as scent, sound, and light to create perceptual illusions that distort or mislead sensory interpretation. This approach extends to her graphic design practice, where she incorporates unconventional elements to challenge traditional visual frameworks.
Nancy is driven by a desire to reimagine given contexts and expand perceptual boundaries beyond the visible. Her curatorial and design practices focus on fostering heightened sensory experiences and awareness. Inspired by artist Koo Jeong A’s concept of exploring “anything that ends with the word scape” Nancy’s interests lie in soundscapes, smellscapes, mindscapes, shadowscapes, lightscapes, timescapes, and dreamscapes.
Nancy oversees the graphic design for the exhibitions she works on, ensuring a cohesive visual and experiential narrative. She collaborates closely with artists to develop designs that authentically represent and amplify the conceptual intentions of their works.
Her curatorial methodology shifts the focus from exhibition production to a critical examination of how exhibitions are performed, transforming exhibition spaces into dynamic, living entities. This approach is mirrored in her graphic design work, where each project becomes an inquiry into sensory and spatial interactions, challenging and expanding the viewer's experience.
"To put it paradoxically, the sublime would be an experience of what lies beyond experience...
the sublime is experience in feeling rather than a perceptual access to what is beyond experience"
- Eli Friedlander