Sunny Nestler | Vancouver, B.C.

Sunny Nestler lives on unceded Coast Salish territory / “Vancouver BC.” Nestler received an MFA from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2013, where they currently teach drawing and natural science. Nestler has published work as an illustrator and book/zine maker, and exhibited in North America. Nestler’s work is rooted in drawing and studies mechanisms of biological life using a process that mimics DNA replication and mutation. Their work is multi-disciplinary and includes painting, video, installation, and performance. Their subject matter cross pollinates biological processes, DIY communities, and unusual landscapes with the political affect of relatedness and mutation.

Artwork by Sunny Nestler, named Coneworm Floe

 Sunny Nestler, Coneworm Floe

These works were made in the early days of the pandemic, with a concentrated anxiety gripping the collective guts a little tighter every day. I have an immune disease that affects my digestive system, and throttles my connection between upper cerebral-brain and lower gut-brain into overdrive. In these mixtures of collage, drawing and paintings the tangled knot is an expression of embodied uncertainty, and the portal is a looking glass, reflecting possible futures that exist on the other side.

Sunny Nestler

Artwork by Sunny Nestler, named Portal #1 (WIP)

Sunny Nestler, Portal #1 (WIP)

Artwork by Sunny Nestler, named Tangled Knot #2

Sunny Nestler, Tangled Knot #2

See more of Sunny's work here.

Sunny Nestler's residency was generously supported by the Jim Dinning and Evelyn Main Endowed Scholarship for Visual Artists.