Sheila Nicolin's "Distracted" examines the interaction of portraiture and noise through the bold juxtaposition of mark-making and surrealist figural compositions. This body of work explores her personal struggle to find a redefined sense of calm despite the absence of silence and her own incapability to focus. The screaming of the everyday is represented through bold color and pattern, creating abstract fields that wrap about the figures. Shrouded by their surroundings, these characters are sometimes full of confidence and sometimes of despair, but are surrounded--and nearly overtaken--nonetheless. Controlled phases of hysteria, calm and staged confidence are represented through the variety of shielded expressions, providing a relatably unclear and confused response to the constant distractions of hyper-stimulation.
