Nell: ‘I’m always thinking about how a painting might sound’

Sydney-based artist Nell has a capacious practice, working deftly across sculpture, painting, sound, assemblage, performance, and public art, producing work that is both accessible yet complex.

Her repertoire of symbology incorporates language, crosses, smiley faces, and orb shapes combined with a deep interest in music and lyrics, feminism and spirituality, life and death. These polarities are seamlessly integrated in canvases, neons, and assemblages often emblazoned with fonts and pithy aphorisms. In 2011, Nell audaciously restaged AC/DC’s song ‘It’s A Long Way To the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)’, playing bass herself in an all-girl rock band with bag pipes.