Bio
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Nishma Gopaul is a multi-disciplinary artist currently residing in Calgary, Alberta. She was born and raised in Mauritius where she studied classical indian dance (Bharatanatyam) and western classical music.
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She moved to Toronto, where she was an active member in the artist community. She started showing in art fairs and group shows as a self taught painter, developing a passion for the visual arts.
Later moving to Calgary earning a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts at the Alberta University of the Arts where her practice deepened gearing towards contemporary visual arts including painting, textile surface design, sculpture and installation.
During her time at the University, she developed creative methodologies focusing on innovative mark making that allowed the concepts of her work to be better articulated.
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She has also curated artistic installations and served on jury boards.​
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Photograph by Jonathan Creese
Artist Statement
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My practice explores the tension between control and surrender through mechanized mark-making processes. By building custom painting tools, including a motorized painting machine, I engage with the unpredictability of mark making. My work is influenced by meditative practices that lead to self observation, the philosophies surrounding technology in its relation to human interaction, and action painting as an active performance of the self. Having an integrated meditation practice gives me an opportunity to observe my thought processes in relation to my current mental and emotional states of being. The marks made by the machine are illustrations of these thought processes.
By choosing consistent parameters to be executed onto a surface over a period of time, the volatile marks that the machine makes create an ethereal landscape. The more layers added, the more complex the composition becomes, simulating the effects of consistent thought processes. This translates into a visual language illustrating the landscape of the mind in relation to thought. Having the ability to manipulate parameters allows for a diversified ledger of mark making, enhancing my capabilities of representing diversified mental and emotional landscapes.
My current ongoing series Being Human draws from my personal experience in relation to change in the last 5 years. Using colour, form and texture I am creating a visual language to illustrate the complex and transitory nature of mental and emotional states of being that have been a catalyst to growth, self understanding and compassion.