Nukleopatra
Born in the last gasps of the twentieth century, Nukleopatra grew up in south London before moving to Colchester for secondary school. Previously interested in a career in performing arts but directionless after leaving education, they were inspired to begin making visual art while working at a local gallery. Nukleopatra’s practice is inspired by an interest in language, using their art as a way to communicate their thoughts and feelings about contemporary issues. They design large vinyl banners informed by intensive research into contemporary social and political issues, using ironic slogans to create propaganda for the digitally native culture warrior. An ambivalent relationship with technology, combining the limitless potential of the internet and a distrust of the corporations that currently rule over it, is at the core of their practice.
Studying Fine Art at Colchester Institute and initially focusing on screen printed posters, Nukleopatra embraced digital design when the college facilities were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Though born out of necessity, this allowed them to create complex and multilayered designs for posters and banners. This shift to digital media more accurately reflected their practice’s core themes of the social and environmental impact of technology. A desire to understand the themes behind art, and how exhibitions convey this information to the public, led them to complete a BA and MA in Curating at the University of Essex.
Their MA thesis exhibition, Lavender Menace: The Language of Queer Feminism, featured ceramics, textiles, and installations united by their use of text within the artwork itself to convey a political message.
Nukleopatra’s work is inspired by an interest in language and sloganeering, and the power of text to convey a political message, inspired by artists such as Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Mark Titchner, and Darren Cullen. They are heavily influenced by internet culture, taking visual cues from internet-specific art styles such as vaporwave. Through their appropriation of images including anime characters, emojis, and memes, they both celebrate the internet for social connection and questions its place in society.
Nukleopatra was recently awarded a place on the Mercury Theatre’s talent development scheme for creatives and received mentoring from creative producer Steve Goatman.
They were recipient of the 2023 SPACE Studio Bursary from 37 Queen Street, providing a subsidised studio for six months, and completed an artist residency with the Minories in Colchester’s former Laura Ashley shop in 2021, creating work that reflected on how closure of retail spaces affects the community.
Nukleopatra’s first solo exhibition, I’m not like other girls (I’m worse), took place at Old Grocery, Wivenhoe, in 2023. The opening night of their recent solo exhibition in Patch, titled Pure Ecstasy Upon Receiving Oblivion, formed part of Creative Colchester’s First Thursdays programme and featured a curated evening of live music. Their work has recently gone international as part of the Anglian Embassy project by Blackwater Polytechnic, appearing in a string of art fairs across Europe this summer alongside other artists from the east of England. They have previously exhibited around the UK including Tech Art Fest’s Future Arts Exhibition (2025), Hoard at Bankley Gallery in Manchester (2024). They are well-known as an emerging artist in Colchester, regularly exhibiting as part of group exhibitions at local galleries including The Minories and Firstsite.
Nukleopatra has been producing and performing electronic music since late 2024, combining sampling with original songwriting to craft techno-pessimist electro pop which shares many themes with their visual practice. Aiming to create a soundtrack for the imminent apocalypse, they have written and performed songs about the fossil fuel industry, the exploitation of workers producing tech commodities, and the performance of gender on social media. Their background in performing arts and graphic design allows them to craft a strong visual identity as ‘Miss Information’ and ‘Doomsday Prepper Princess,’ leading to notable performances including Supermarket Art Fair in Stockholm.
As their professional alter ego Tilly Hawkins, Nukleopatra works as a freelance art writer for Sluice magazine, writing articles to commission on topics including a history of the Antiuniversity of London and queer arts projects in Iceland. They have an interest in organising grassroots creative events, perform regularly at community music event Queer Noise Ipswich, and put the ideas behind their practice into action through engaging in political activism.
