anticipation of her first UK institutional retrospective at the National Galleries of Scotland (September 2024 – May 2025), for which she was awarded the Freelands Award 2022.
The works selected chart the evolution of Nicodemus’ late-blooming yet explosive career. From her sculptural 'Birth Masks', mixed-media collages testifying to the artist’s personal trauma during pregnancy and childbirth; to the paintings and drawings related to her struggle with grief and mental health; to the new canvases exploring the spiritual and healing aspect of art.
Since the 1980s, Nicodemus' work has addressed violence against women, personal trauma, and the isolation and dehumanisation of living within structural racism. As an African émigré who moved across Europe, the artist was consistently marginalised, and following a series of personal problems and losses, she lived in poverty for years. Yet, Nicodemus has never ceased to make art, building an extraordinary artistic practice that explores postcolonial theory, Feminism, and Black radical thought from a deeply personal point of view.