Philippa Nikulinsky

Spring is perfect timing for the release of Philippa Nikulinsky: For the Seeker Who Walks, published by Fremantle Press. Known for incredible depictions of nature in Western Australia, the book marks a 60-year legacy of her work, acclaimed by both critics and scientists. Nikulinsky was awarded an order of Australia in 2016, and in 2019 received a doctorate of letters from the University of Western Australia for her contribution to art and nature. The book is drawn from her field diaries over 25 years and includes text by her husband, Alex, as well as by her daughter-in-law, Angela, who played a pivotal role in curating the content of the book.

Nikulinsky grew up in the Goldfields, in an environment punctuated by mining. She says it was dusty, dirty, noisy and devoid of trees. “It was home, so I knew nothing else,” she says. “I would ride my bike out into the bush regularly and it was such a delight every few years when there had been rain and that dirty, dusty earth sprang to life with flowers. I would wonder how these things came into being,” she says.

Later, as an adult, her practice gradually evolved with long, lone drives into the bush, exploring, drawing and noting the unique placement of flora. The inclusion of text and drawings by her husband Alex in the book adds a new layer of understanding of her modus operandi. Initially looking after their children during her sojourns into often remote locations, Alex has been her co-traveller since 1993, setting up camp and makeshift bush studios while Philippa imbues the atmosphere of a place and scours the landscape for possible subjects. He reveals, among many things, how she talks to plants, telling them she will paint them, and how she considers all of Western Australia her backyard, as well as his own view of her ‘plant portraits’: “There’s a glimpse of a wider unknown reality beyond the edges of the paper,” he writes. Indeed, on occasion, the edges of the paper have often been too restrictive to relate the full story of a place, with her work expanding into massive works metres long.

She says Alex retired early to travel with her and attended art school for a couple of years. “It’s been team work ever since,” she says “He ran the camp really all these years and made it a very comfortable working place.”

Angela Nikulinsky joined the family 16 years ago, marrying Andre, the youngest of Philippa and Alex’s sons. She has worked collaboratively with Philippa since 2017, sharing her artwork with the wider world. Angela says she made a pitch to Philippa after her first child was born, suggesting they work together. “It’s worked out quite well because so many of the things that I do and have done for Philippa over the years have freed up her time to just get on with painting,” she says. “I think artists need to be able to just do what they’re good at rather than all of the other stuff that you sort of have to do unless you have someone to do it for you.”

Already with a diploma in Writing and Literature, Angela has been inspired by the work of her mother-in-law, and is now studying botany. “And I’m not alone in that,” she says. “I’ve been in Philippa’s studio when multiple youngpeople have come up to her and said, ‘You are a big part of why I’m a botanist now,’ which is pretty special. I think one of Philippa’s gifts is opening people’s eyes to what’s out there and the power of looking really close and looking at what’s growing and how it’s growing and how it’s surviving, especially in this arid country that she loves so much. That really inspires and motivates other people to go out and, observe and see and protect it as well.”

Philippa Nikulinsky: For the Seeker Who Walks is available in book stores.

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