The Art of Ascendance
“Collage involves the collision of different images and ideas, creating a dialogue between them that reveals something new and often surprising.”
— John Stezaker
This body of work, composed of analogue collage, explores the human desire to rise, to lift beyond the weight of the everyday and toward something just out of reach.
Drawing on found imagery and hand-cut elements, each composition considers the longing for flight as both a physical and emotional state. Figures, wings, and atmospheric forms are layered with care, suggesting the fragile yet persistent pull toward elevation. These works hold a quiet tension between gravity and grace, groundedness and transcendence.
The process of collage, selecting, cutting, and assembling, becomes an act of ascendance in itself, a way of piecing together fragments of hope, memory, and imagination. At their heart, these collages reflect the longing for lightness, for freedom, and for the small, personal moments that lift us.
'Chorus Line' I Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Chorus Line' II Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Chorus Line' III Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Intersection of Love' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'It’s in the Holding That Our Flight Begins' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Spectators' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'As If She Could Just Take Off' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Launch Sequence' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Exit Strategy' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Flight Deferred' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Flight Risk' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Lifted By Love' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'First One Up' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Ms Quito Poppins' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'The Wild Over Venice' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Pedal To The Wind' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'The Last Kiss' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Bird In The Hand' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Lead Of Faith' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'The Dive' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Flight Of The Slow Dreamer' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Against The Tide' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Plunge' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Walking On Air' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Strike From Above' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Lift Me Up' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'In The Wake Of Wings' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Where Land Meets Sky' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
'Elegy of Wings' Contemporary collage fine art print, edition of 5
Client Reviews
Nicola Bouwer’s work is radiant and rich. When I view Bouwer’s work, it clearly stands out. Her ability to tell a story with the least amount of subject on the canvas is unparalleled. A single chair against an identified background says so much. Bouwer has the ability to move you to tears with only a single chair. I’m a proud collector of her work. I am thrilled to witness her artistic journey and can’t wait to see where she will go…and take me with her.
— Yasser BagershI love my art pieces from Nicola🩷. And they make me especially happy because I know they are hers.
— Suzanne StevensI am lucky to have one of Nicola’s atmospheric paintings in my hallway. It is serene and moody, taking you to a quieter place every time you walk past.
— Robyn Shamu