Nicole Maloof

Statement

Nicole Maloof’s practice engages themes of assumption, expectation, seduction and the abject body. She investigates her relationship to her own body and its implications in the world through material exploration and abnormal forms. Maloof was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was four years old. As someone with an autoimmune disease, she is constantly aware of the inner workings of the body; she hopes to bring this level of awareness to the viewer. By working with homemade hard candy, Jell-O and spent medical supplies in conjunction with more typical art materials including plaster and acrylic paint, Maloof seeks to challenge the audiences’ expectations as she creates bizarre sculptures that are humorous, ironic, childlike and disturbing all at once.

GlogauAIR Project

Throughout the past two years while completing my MFA at American University, I have experimented with materials like candy, liquid plastic and Jell-O to create jewel-like sculptures comprised of hundreds of molds. I utilize my used Autosoft 90 Infusion Sets in order to create these molds. The Autosoft 90 Infusion Sets insert a cannula in my body where the insulin I administer enters; I use one set every three days and have done so since I was six years old. The infusion sets are both integrated with and foreign to my body. The gem-like exterior of the molds seduces the viewer into coming closer to contemplate – what exactly are these sculptures? The discarded bodily medical material the mold is made from creates distinct contrast to the beautiful exterior. I ask the viewer to question why they might find the sculptures straddling a line between alarming and beautiful.

The sculptures are simultaneously playful and twisted, seductive and repulsive based on their outer appearance and deeper meaning. Candy is a humorous material wrapped up in irony and resent. I have a complicated relationship with candy. On one hand, it is something I know I cannot eat all of the time; however, I also rely on sugar heavily when my blood sugar is low. Jell-O, a “clear liquid food,” is often administered in hospitals and conjures memories of sickness. Its confusing consistency and disappointing flavor emphasize the repulsive nature of the enlarged Autosoft 90 Infusion Set sculpture. The degenerative forms that are entangled amongst the sculptures parallel the way that the insulin I administer breaks down sugar in the blood.

As an Online GlogauAIR artist, I will continue to explore the potential of the small Autosoft 90 Infusion set components I create. They are cellular and bodily, however, they are also industrial and visually sleek. I would like to push the form further by using materials including plaster, gold enamel paint and gel medium. These materials will allow me to further toe the line between the disgusting and the attractive, the beautiful and the repulsive. The Residency will provide me with space and support for this exploration.

CV Summary

EDUCATION

• 2022 MFA, Studio Art, American University, Washington, DC.
• 2019 BA, Studio Art and Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

• 2022 in•position, MFA Thesis Exhibition, American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, Washington, DC.
• What a Relief: small relief sculptures, Juried Exhibition, Phillips@THEARC, Washington, DC.
• Sweet Tooth, Juried Exhibition, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA.
• Regional Juried Exhibition, Juried Exhibition, Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, Washington, DC.
• FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD, Online Group Exhibition, Cultural Center of Cape Cod, South Yarmouth, MA.
• Mind Body Spirit, Online Group Exhibition, J Mane Gallery.
• Unity, Online Group Exhibition, Art Fluent, Boston, MA.
• 2021 Envisioning Benefit Exhibition and Online Auction, Juried Exhibition, Transformer, Washington, DC.
• Ruins, Still Point Arts Gallery, Online Group Exhibition, Brunswick, ME.
• 2019 Senior Exhibition, Group Exhibition, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA.
• Visual Arts Showcase, Group Exhibition, Boston College Arts Festival, Chestnut Hill, MA.
• 2018 Happy Now?, Group Exhibition, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA.
• Visual Arts Showcase, Group Exhibition, Boston College Arts Festival, Chestnut Hill, MA.

AWARDS

• 2021-22 Babs Van Swearingen Memorial Award, American University, Washington, DC.
• 2020-21 Babs Van Swearingen Memorial Award, American University, Washington, DC.

PUBLICATIONS

• 2021 Still Point Arts Quarterly, Issue No. 44, Winter 2021.
• 2020 CouCou Collective, Issue 1, June 16, 2021.
• 2019 Stylus, Boston College, April, 2019.
• The Laughing Medusa, Boston College, April, 2019.
• The Medical Humanities Journal, Boston College, March 2019.

Gallery