Nina Beier

Nina Beier is interested in the embedded sociocultural significance within and signification transmitted by materials and objects. She works to challenge the everyday readymade objects that she assembles, exploring their symbolic breadth and magnitude. Beier acquires much of her objet d’art by trawling through eBay. This is part of the process, a continuation of the trading process already experienced by these objects. The artist is determined to let objects speak for themselves, to propel their own meaning forward. To achieve this, she experiments with different juxtapositions and hierarchies. Her role is to catalyse a reaction, the spark of contrast between disparate objects. In Sink, a 2018 installation at Spike Island, hand-rolled cigars protrude from ceramic sinks. When unravelled, the cigars reveal several layers of signification; wealth, colonialism, the history of global trade. Through her work, one can begin to comprehend and unpick at what stage objects are imbued with layers of meaning and attributed value.