Nicole Anne Bouwer is an artist from Makhanda, Eastern Cape, and is currently completing her MFA at Rhodes University.

After graduating with her BFA in 2017, Nicole ventured into marketing and recruitment whilst participating in a variety of exhibitions in and around Cape Town. Nicole completed her Honours degree in Art History and Visual Culture in 2022, focusing on the relationship and dynamics between tattooing and identity in contemporary South Africa. This encompassed themes such as symbolism,
spirituality, pain, and identity formation.

Nicole’s current body of work explores how tattoos and tattooing encapsulate personal significance and act as instruments for embodying experiences that enrich and solidify one’s sense of self and history. Her research aims to explore the act of tattooing as a grief ritual, whilst incorporating symbolic play and physical pain as mediums of emotional healing.

Last Modified: Fri, 08 Mar 2024 11:44:24 SAST