Sabi Nicholson

Sabi is a lens-based artist whose work explores the surreal, the sensual, the personal, and the unsightly. She came out at age 12 and has been passionate about the rights of the marginalised for as long as she can remember, an effort made more difficult due to the intolerance her homeland is unfortunately known for. She was born- and still lives- in Belfast. She graduated Foundation Art at Ulster University in 2018, winning the Dean’s Award for Highest Performing Students, and is taking a gap year to develop her practice before looking further afield to continue her education.

Hell Hole

In April 2018, my friends organised and held a LGBT-focused club night in a tiny Belfast bar that created a perfect storm- the attendees dressed to kill, leaving trails of glitter wherever they went, the space pitch black with flashes of colour, the room vibrating with noise. Stepping into a place like this creates a feeling of anonymity in numbers. These environments of vague identity can lend confidence to people usually uncomfortable with themselves, not unlike a confession booth. Northern Ireland is not known as a haven for the LGBT community. Our rights are reduced to a “matter of opinion”, often under the guise of religion. The club night itself was satirically named ‘Hell Hole’. This work is tied to the security that LGBT people feel in certain places that allow freedom of expression without fear of being judged. In equal measure, it's a love letter to my community.

UKYA PROJECTS:

UKYA City Takeover: Nottingham 2019