Artists directory

Nancy

Nightingale

Disciplines: Drawing

Materials: Paper, Pencil, Woodwork
Within her practice, Nancy observes how changing daylight transforms space. She translates cinematic-like lighting of architectural spaces into blocks of textured marks. Having been diagnosed with Irlen Syndrome at 16, a condition which causes visual stress, Nancy recognised her ability to process light, text and images differed to those around her. She constructs drawings by building blocks of repetitive and heavy linear marks which contrast with the paper they sit on. This mimics the flashing effect she perceives which occurs when reading text, and softer marks mirror the ghostly image that lingers after looking away from a subject. Through her work, Nancy recreates her experience of processing visual information with a heightened sensitivity to light. Nancy’s drawings are process-led which allows for a controlled restriction of information by removing detail, abstracting each space that would usually be regarded as ordinary or routine. The choice of earthy, monochromatic and grayscale tones mirror that of a concrete landscape. Materials are used as a tool for creating visual noise, where quieter moments exist within subtle changes in texture. By abstracting the original space, the artworks capture the mood without need for explicit definition.

Previous Experience

Nancy Nightingale is an Artist based in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, who graduated from Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh in 2018, specialising in Painting. Exhibitions include: The Thread that Pulls – VAS, Royal Scottish Academy (2025–26) | John Ruskin Prize – Trinity Buoy Wharf, London (2025) | Kimpton Charlotte Square, Edinburgh (2025) | Art Pistol, Glasgow (2024) | Patriothall Gallery, Edinburgh (2024) | Realm of Abstract – Solo (Online, 2024) | Rathbones, Edinburgh (2023) | Saorsa Gallery, Edinburgh (2023) | Whitespace, Edinburgh (2023) | REVERB – VAS, Royal Scottish Academy (2022) | FLOW, VAS (Online, 2020–21) | Dock Street Studios, Dundee (2019) | Patriothall Gallery, Edinburgh (2019) | Six Foot Gallery, Glasgow (2018) | Edinburgh College of Art (2015-2018) | Royal Drawing School, London (2015) | Royal College of Art, London (2014) | National Portrait Gallery, London – BP Next Generation (2013).

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