Christian Nicholson
Steel, foam, fibre glass and plywood
The Biggie is a full-size replica of a 1970s model
glider scaled in the same proportions as a real Spitfire with a
wing span of 36 feet. Resembling the original balsa wood plane.
The aircraft were popular toys when Nicolson grew up in the '70s
and '80s and are what he now considers an icon of New Zealand
heritage, something that will remind many people of their past. The
planes connect us to the outdoors and symbolise childhood, the
past, holidays, back-yards, spare time and free fun.
Christian's initial career was in design. Leaving that industry
a few years ago to become a fulltime artist. Nicolson admits design
still plays a role in his work today and says for him it was
probably the most important thing he learnt. Concentrating more on
the idea than any specific medium this artist worked across several
disciplines in recent years.
Nicolson was a finalist in the Wallace Awards in 2007 and 2008
and has exhibited widely in the past few years.
The Biggie is what he considers to be an icon of his youth
brought into scale that once he could only have dreamed of
Nicolson states "sometimes fantasies do become real. Now get
outside and play!"
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