Shikani Sargent
Sunshine Coast based artist Shikani Sargent employs collage, photo media and text creating digital images, works on paper and installation. Exploring the politics of space, these works survey psychological and sentimental connections related to the definition home.
Juxtaposing traditional and digital collage Sargent uses images from home and interior design magazines from the 20th century to compose new and surreal spaces. Describing this application as nostalgic aesthetics, Sargent critiques concepts of stability and the notion of the ideal home. This interest on home and the politics of space, is grounded in lived experience. Sargent’s transient past of living in over 50 houses informs the work directly.
In building the collages, Sargent selects architectural structures, domestic houses, interior décor, and landscapes. The archival material from found magazines bought in thrift stores is cut and manipulated to form new illusory compositions. The element of paper is important to the practice as it sparks sentimental childlike memories, it is affordable, light and easy to transport while simultaneously fragile and disposable.
Sargent’s text practice documents internal dialogue and absurd anecdotes of the everyday. Written in 1st,2ndand 3rd person these works on paper consist of analogies, metaphors and affirmations that evidence a form of self-reprogramming to create new thought patterns. They are handwritten, playful and operate as spoken word poetry for the reader.
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Shikani has exhibited widely across the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane, with shows at venues such as The Old Ambulance Station in Nambour, Lantana Space in Caloundra, House Conspiracy in West End, and BackDock Arts in Fortitude Valley. Their work has been developed through programs and residencies including Project 24, Project Lab, and Regional Scribes, and has been featured in publications like Regional Arts Australia and Frankie Magazine.
In 2025, Shikani will embark on an intensive mentoring program supported by RADF funding from Sunshine Coast Council. Under the mentorship of Dr. Kellie O’Dempsey, and during a residency at Lantana Space, Shikani will develop a new body of work to be showcased in a solo exhibition at Cooroy Butter Factory.
