Nicky Zwaan

Nicky Zwaan (Burkina Faso, 1971) is a Dutch artist, who lives and works in Amsterdam. Her work consists of photos and video’s (natural phenomena) and installations (sculptural phenomena).

Nicky Zwaan creates conditions in which man sees himself observing his surroundings. By giving a twist to everyday phenomena, the mechanism of perception becomes the central theme. Her work reflects the surrounding world, until the reality of this perception reveals itself. Zwaan’s work seems at first sight magical and secondly it makes clear that the magic does not take place here, but in the 'normal' way we see the ordinary reality.

Exhibitions: Open source, street of sculptures (Amsterdam, 2009), Solo exh Gallery Diana Stigter (Amsterdam, 2008), Olympic one minute exhibition (Today Art museum, China, 2008), Shanghai fringe videofestival (China, 2006), Openings exh Stedelijk museum (Amsterdam, 2004), Rencontres Internationales (Berlin/Paris, 2003), Facing Korea (Seoul, 2003)

Awards:  Nicky Zwaan received several awards, including The René Coëlhoprize 2000, the Photo of the year 2007 (The Limburger), and a nomination for the best Video of the World in 2005.

 Teaching:  Since 2007 Nicky Zwaan is a tutor at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.

 Website: www.nickyzwaan.com