Nicholas Mahady’s practice is concerned with depicting micro atmospheres – vague entities that are almost qualities rather than subjects.
The conceptual framework around Mahady’s practice considers how to represent the unrepresentable, like atmospheres and energies, in
the most realistic of mediums: photography. In this pursuit, Mahady plays with obfuscation and partial visibility, deliberately deciding what
(not) to show, what to cover, conceal or protect.
Mahady considers how poetry and language can serve as a foundation to producing new bodies of work — treating language as a form of
sculptural device, considering how one places and pairs works. There is a core interest in the fracture between intention and perception,
embracing the importance of accidental gestures and the human touch. This methodology frames his images not as narrative-driven, but as
poetic objects that evoke rather than explain — meaning is not fixed but emerges.
Education
2022 Bachelor of Fine Art Honours (High Distinction), Monash University, Melbourne
2017 Bachelor of Fine Art (Distinction), Expanded Studio Practice, RMIT University, Melbourne
Solo Exhibitions
2023
Pipes, Hyacinth, Melbourne
Collaborations
2022
One Train May Hide Another, Nicholas Mahady & Marcel Croxson, Cathedral Cabinet, Melbourne
Pause, Nicholas Mahady & Marcel Croxson, Copeland Park, London
2021
Window One Window Two, Nicholas Mahady & Marcel Croxson, Five Walls, Melbourne
2018
re: inadequacy, Nicholas Mahady & Tinieka Page, c3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne
Group Exhibitions
2024
New Photographers, Daine Singer, Melbourne
LaTrobe Valley Gravel, Churchill Town Hall, Victoria
2023
Top Quality Plastics, Adult Contemporary, Melbourne
The Exterminating Pencil Vol.4, Cathedral Cabinet x Caves, Melbourne
Polite Fiction, Cathedral Cabinet, Melbourne
Menagerie, Asbestos, Melbourne
2022
MADA NOW 2022, Monash University, Caulfield
DAS BOOT, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
The General Public, 99%, Melbourne
Cathedral Cabinet Fundraiser, Cathedral Cabinet, Melbourne
2021
Salon Hostel, Hostel, Melbourne
The Exterminating Pencil Vol.2, Cathedral Cabinet, Melbourne
2017
(Fine Art) & Visual Arts Graduation Showcase, RMIT University, Melbourne
Other
2024 New Photographers Program, PHOTO24, Melbourne
2022 Fini Prize, MADA NOW 2022, Monash University, Caulfield