In the thesis of Imagining a Queer Utopia: A Manifesto, I evoke the spirit of a utopic, futuristic Bluefire Phoenix Bird—Rising into its Future Destiny; the power of utopia manifested through dreaming and imagining of a liberated future. I envision a utopian world that transcends our karmic pasts, flaws, and dystopian realities, achieved through the Phoenix’s renewal and transformation. A blue Firebird is reborn from its own preceding ashes, suggesting an acceptance of queer vulnerability, expressing individuality and liberty. We break free and heal from our political pasts by allowing love to surface through shedding, leading us towards a more hopeful and liberated future. 

In my Master of Fine Arts Thesis, I explore the methodologies of Queer Utopia by José Esteban Muñoz, Queer Threads by John Chaich, Queer Abstraction by David J. Getsy, Camp by Susan Sontag, Utopia in Performance by Jill Dolan, dreaming, kitsch and pride through painting, textiles, and fashion. By utilizing colourful digital prints, innovative embellishment, and unconventional materials, I generate a surrealistic space in which the possibilities of the future become tangible through the process of imagination. In my research, installation, and fashion garments, I transmute emotions and thoughts through bold, confrontational colour, dreaming, and through the imagining and union of an autonomous twin soul love. Hence, creating a powerful gateway or threshold into a liberated utopian universe. Through fashion and painting, I generate an expansive ocean, a dream space, in which our queer desires of love become manifest in physical reality. 

Keywords: Queer Abstraction, Abstract Expressionism, Contemporary Painting, Utopia, Fashion

Website: www.nicolemelnicky.com

Instagram: @nicolemelnicky

 Bio

Nicole Melnicky is an interdisciplinary artist and fashion designer based out of Vancouver, BC. She is a current MFA student at OCAD University with a focus in Interdisciplinary Art, Media and Design. She received her BFA from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a concentration in Fine Art, along with minors in Textile Design, and Art History. Melnicky was hosted as an artist-in-residence at Vermont Studio Center, Toronto Biennial of Art, Otis College of Art and Design, The Ou Gallery, and Studio H Canada. Nicole's studio is located at the Or Gallery in Vancouver, BC.

Artist Statement

Through my paintings, I evoke a surrealistic space in which the possibilities of the future become tangible through the process of imagination. By utilizing my ability to paint and dream, I create paintings that evoke a watery sensibility through a whimsical space. I dream of a future world that is fluid. A world that glitters with the essence of pride. Through painting marbled pools or expansive oceans, I imagine a watery space that is airy, and blue; a space that glimmers within the shadow of ultraviolence, and luminescence of queer waters. My work embodies the vision of a queer liberated body, exemplifying gay pride. Hence, manifesting my own vision of an empowered queer future.