Written by Trip Avis

Purple-pink skies pop and fizzle with electricity over radiant Indian temples, whose colored steeples resemble cake-like confections. Kawaii plushness abounds from the countless stuffed animals overflowing a Japanese store display. Distorting, transforming, and elevating her potent travel imagery with playful manipulations in color and composition, Nicólee “Niik” Paine brings dual meaning to the word “trip.” A South Florida-based digital artist, she imbues her photographic oeuvre with a striking, psychedelic whimsy entirely her own. Her work has an undeniable joie de vivre; Niik’s photos burst with a dreamy vibrance that reminds us of all the beauty in our wild world and the giddy promise of adventure. Niik reflects on her approach to photography: “I like to create a visual experience that showcases a juxtaposition of happy, saturated dream-like imagery with dark undertones displaying the reality of our lives. I utilize these mediums to help immerse the audience into a parallel universe that evokes emotion and inspires change.”

Niik’s images instill an unblemished childlike curiosity as if we were seeing the world for the first time. There is no judgment, only wonder. We see pictures of lush, faraway lands through her discerning eyes; she invites us to partake in her one-woman odyssey that is life. While places like India, Japan, and the Swiss Alps are undeniably colorful, Niik raises the bar with her vivid, hallucinogenic creations. They are deeply cinematic and engaging, an ode to her filmmaking roots: “With my background in film, I try to recreate the essence of a movie scene that will rouse experiences, convey ideas, elicit feelings, and construct atmospheres through the platform of my artwork, while telling a story.” There is a narrative underpinning her photographic journey. Each image feels like another step in her adventure through the animated streets of Kyoto and the sun-baked earthen roads of rural India. Her subjects feel like friends we meet along the way; they are spirit guides in the form of delightful encounters with strangers.

Niik is a student of the world, immersing herself seamlessly in the mise en scène. This is particularly evident in the collage Auras in Agra, where she deftly captures the essence of the place, the people, and the moment, weaving a narrative that draws us in. Niik overlays a shot of a crumbling yet regal temple with an image of an older woman seated on a bench draped in a bright pink shawl and a purple blouse. She is awash in a color gradient cloud of blue, green, and orange, imagining the energy that radiates from deep in her soul. The woman wears a serious yet vulnerable expression; perhaps Niik captured her in a contemplative moment. On the right of the collage, a mother carries her small child. Her face is obscured by the rich tangerine-colored ensemble she wears; around her, she glows turquoise while the child exudes a magenta aura. Beneath the playful verve, it is a compelling depiction of the intricacies of being human and the energy we all release, conscious or not.

Niik’s work is truly an electric travel daydream; it is a rich, frenetic tapestry of fantasy transcending the photographic medium and taking us on a breathless but always enjoyable journey from temple to candy store and back again.

May 20 Niik: Electric Travel Daydream

May 21 Prix Pictet: Human | Fotografiska Stockholm

May 19 Photo London Editor's Choice

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