Airborne (Framed)

Mae Nicolaou is a Dublin born, London based artist working between the figurative and the supposedly functional. Her work explores the representation of people engaged in the quotidian, choosing experience over reference as a methodology. She collects and selects materials to produce unconventional inscriptions of contemporary life. Mae uses slow processes such as traditional casting methods, along with faster analogue forms of image-making like frottage, expanded drawing, and mono-printing. These deliberate
processes, developed specifically for her practice, enable her to activate her thoughts and ideas.

Mae holds an MFA from Goldsmiths, University of London (2025). She was awarded the Graphic Studio Dublin Expanded Print Residency (2026), a Postgraduate Fellowship in the Fine Art Department at Goldsmiths (2025), the CASS Material Award (2025), and the Emerging Artist Bursary from DLR County Council (2024). She was also shortlisted for the ACME Studio Award (2025) and the QEST Emerging Maker Grant (2024).

"Building on the idea that an object is inert until activated, a dress for example, remains dormant until worn, I am interested in how clothing participates in cycles of circulation and accumulation, often mediated through image and language. This is not a purely aesthetic interest; clothing functions both as a material object and as a cultural signifier with which we are all engaged." - Mae Nicolaou