Artist Statement
Portal Series
A series of paintings by Jane Nicol
“They are Portals; to another dimension, where colours have a scent and divine beings walk among us, and fall and scrape their knees, and bleed like anybody else.”
In 2003, a severe medication reaction changed the way I perceived the world. I stepped through a portal into an altered reality — the Portal Series paintings depict imagery from that transformed perspective.
Works in this series
Anthem for Pfizer
The consequences of seeking relief from pain through prescription medication — specifically Gabapentin (Neurontin) — and the surrender of consciousness for temporary comfort.
Insight or Pathology
The disorienting sensation of perceiving phenomena without physical cause. Feeling the rush of wind without the truck. Whether such experiences represent genuine insight or neurological effect.
Acting, As If
Holding alternate truths during despair — open-heartedness, steeped in hot pain and despair, alchemizes into cold, clear Love.
No Me
The dissolution of identity. Loss of self amid overwhelming fear and disorientation.