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Nikolich, a Philadelphia-based textile artist, has garnered recognition for her vibrant and large-scale crochet installations

People who know me also know how nostalgic I am. Coincidentally (or not), I am writing this piece on a sofa-bed on which I have slept every night for two months. The sofa-bed is my favorite piece of childhood furniture, the one we would open up at the end of family parties to sleep together with four or five cousins.

Images: Nikolich Instagram account

And more. I recently fell into the nostalgia game trap, downloading on an old Thinkpad with Windows XP operating system installed, the unreachable The Sims 1, a piece of history no longer available on physical CD-ROMs (downloading it was one of the hardest things I've ever done).

Relying on these physical supports of memory, these sounds, these tactile and visual sensations I can easily access a past that suddenly resurfaces. The same supports anchor my memories to spaces, to domestic places which I experienced in a liquid, nocturnal, and distant way.

Starting from these feelings, I’m going to introduce you to Nicole Nikolish's artistic work, the artist which has cultivated memories and images, by weaving them into stunning works that most people can read as a kind of personal experience. 

Nicole Nikolich's exhibition, Can I Please Eat Dinner in the Computer Room?, is a compelling component of The Delaware Contemporary's Winter/Spring 2025 series, The Dinner Table.

Running from January 17 to May 25, 2025, this installation delves into the interplay between personal memory and the evolution of domestic spaces, challenging traditional notions of communal dining and the sanctity of the dinner table.

Nikolich, a Philadelphia-based textile artist, has garnered recognition for her vibrant and large-scale crochet installations.

Can I Please Eat Dinner in the Computer Room? exhibited at The Delaware Contemporary
Photo credit: Nikolich Instagram account

Can I Please Eat Dinner in the Computer Room? exhibited at The Delaware Contemporary
Photo credit: Nikolich Instagram account

"Can I Please Eat Dinner in the Computer Room?" serves as a site-specific installation that reconstructs a quintessential early 2000s computer room entirely through crochet.

The conceptual framework of the installation is rooted in Nikolich's adolescent experiences. As a teenager, she found solace in the computer room, a secluded enclave within the household that offered a portal to digital exploration and self-discovery. This space became a sanctuary where she could transcend the immediate realities of her environment, engaging with emerging technologies and online communities. By relocating her meals to this room, she disrupted the conventional family dining experience, forging a personal ritual that blended nourishment with digital engagement.

This meticulously crafted space is replete with period-specific details, including a freeze-frame from The Sims 2, or the Solitaire 98 winning screen, all rendered in yarn. The installation invites viewers to step into a tactile recreation of a bygone era, evoking a sense of nostalgia and personal reflection.

This installation is a memorial to this fever dream of a time period where you could only access the internet in a specifically designated computer room, says Nikolish in her Instagram post about the project and continue, this space, an escape to another part of your life, often felt like an oasis to explore who you were becoming for the first time without the microscope and confinements of adults and societal expectations. swapping sandboxes for CD-ROM games and mixed tapes. inside jokes with friends in chat rooms and staying up until way too late messaging your crush in your own secret language.

Can I Please Eat Dinner in the Computer Room? exhibited at The Delaware Contemporary
Photo credit: Nikolich Instagram account

Can I Please Eat Dinner in the Computer Room? exhibited at The Delaware Contemporary
Photo credit: Nikolich Instagram account

Through her textile practice, Nikolich reclaims these formative moments, translating ephemeral memories into tangible art. The act of crocheting each element serves as a  meditative process, allowing her to weave personal history into the fabric of the installation, while the choice of medium is particularly poignant; crochet, often associated with domesticity and tradition, is repurposed to construct a space emblematic of technological advancement and individual autonomy.

The installation challenges the sanctity of the traditional dinner table by juxtaposing it with the computer desk (the exhibition is equipped with a working computer from 1987), a modern counterpart that has increasingly become a site of solitary dining and multitasking. This shift reflects broader societal changes, where technology mediates human interaction and redefines communal spaces. Nikolich's work prompts viewers to contemplate the implications of this evolution, questioning how digital landscapes have transformed our social dynamics and personal routines.

Moreover, the installation engages with themes of escapism and the construction of identity in virtual realms. For many adolescents, the computer room represented a threshold to alternative worlds, offering opportunities to experiment with self-presentation and connect with like-minded individuals beyond geographical constraints. Nikolich encapsulates this duality, portraying the computer room as both a refuge and a gateway, a place where the boundaries between the physical and digital selves blur.

In the context of "The Dinner Table" exhibition series, Nikolich's installation offers a nuanced perspective on the intersection of tradition and innovation. It underscores the fluidity of communal spaces and rituals, illustrating how they adapt in response to technological progress and shifting cultural norms. By memorializing a specific moment in time, Can I Please Eat Dinner in the Computer Room? serves as both a tribute to the past and a commentary on the ever-evolving landscape of human connection.

Visitors to The Delaware Contemporary are invited to experience this evocative installation, which not only showcases Nikolich's technical prowess but also resonates on an emotional level, prompting introspection about the role of technology in shaping our domestic and social spheres. Through her innovative use of crochet, Nikolich transforms the computer room from a mere backdrop of adolescence into a vibrant tapestry of memory, identity, and cultural commentary.

@lace_in_the_moon
www.laceinthemoon.com
www.decontemporary.org