Nick Thomm’s artwork is a lesson in movement, an explosion of colour and energy that combine to push and pull your senses through an unexpected trip. It’s the same sense of movement that can be found in Nick himself, who balances a successful art career between New York and Melbourne. His boundless energy and constant search for new opportunities made him the perfect collaborator to launch Pump’s new product Pump+ Natural Electrolytes. Acclaim caught up with Nick ahead of the debut of Pump+ Natural Electrolytes to find out how he approached the project.
In your own words could you describe your art and what inspires you?
A lot of my work is about abstracting reality. Taking things that are familiar, deconstructing them, and giving them new meaning. It’s my interpretation of how I see the world, and hopefully by sharing that with people they can see things in a new or different way.
Why did the Pump+ Natural Electrolytes project appeal to you?
When the Pump team came to me with the project I was excited to work on something that people can interact with and experience in everyday life. They were really positive about making something that is the right balance between my work and the concept behind Pump+. It was a chance to approach something from a unique angle. Usually you would see an athlete collaborating on something like this, so to give that opportunity to an artist was cool.
How did you approach the brief?
It’s all about movement and energy, so I focused on creating work that has a strong sense of those elements within it. They are common themes in a lot of my work so it was a really natural process and it aligned perfectly with the ‘Keep Moving’ concept. Generally my work is pretty experimental and a lot of it involves trial and error, so it was cool to work with a brand that believed in that and trusted my vision.
How do you ensure balance between your art practice and what the client needs?
I think that comes with experience. I never want to create work where the art is compromised—working with people and brands that also care is key. Generally the best way to approach it is to only collaborate when you both have the same vision from the outset. The ideas that the Pump team were excited about all aligned strongly with my vision for the project.
Did you like the idea of working on something that people will see and interact with every day?
I love working on large-scale projects. For me the more people who can see and experience something the better, it also creates an opportunity for people to interact with art in a way that’s more approachable and outside of the gallery space.
You’re a few years in to your practice now and are continuously successfully, how do you keep things moving forward?
Most of the time I’ll just have ideas in my head that I need to get out. I can’t sit still for long so I’m always making things. I just have this constant need to create and I wouldn’t be able to live without doing that.
You travel a lot and are always on-the-go, how do you stay motivated and focused?
Traveling can be like hitting the refresh button on my brain. Even if I’ve been to the city before, the change in pace and scenery can inspire so many different things. I actually found it hard at the start, not knowing if I’d be in a different city or country next week, but after a while that started to inspire my work.
What’s next for you?
2018 is going to be a big year for exhibitions. I’ve been working on a lot of new stuff this year, which will be in solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Seoul, Los Angeles. And hopefully something cool in Australia that I can’t talk about yet.
This feature was created in partnership with Pump+ Natural Electrolytes to celebrate their collaboration with Nick Thomm.