Universo
This is a space where creation becomes a threshold,
and where the infinite starts to become visible.
The head has long been understood as a powerful point of transformation. Across cultures, it can stand for the human being as a whole and has been regarded as the noblest part of the body. The head also refers to the dominant or principal part of something - THE SOURCE. This significance extends beyond the physical: as the centre of thought and spiritual activity, the head regarded as a sacred point of connection.
A headdress acts directly on the body. Through its form, dimensions, materials or the way it is worn, it can alter silhouette, posture and movement; it can conceal, enhance or transform our appearance, changing how we inhabit the body and how we are perceived by others. These physical shifts can also change how we feel, our sense of presence and awareness, and our relationship to what surrounds us.
This capacity to alter both body and perception helps explain why headdresses have often operated beyond appearance. At a deeper, often unexplored level, they can articulate relationships between the human being and the cosmos, and shape how those relationships are experienced.
In my work, I approach the headdress as a device for transformation - a threshold between body, perception and something larger than ourselves. When worn and embodied, each piece creates a space for alignment, connection and perceptual opening.
Bio
Nikole Tursi is an Argentinian artist based in London. Her work begins with an interest in the moment an object stops being something we wear and starts becoming something we inhabit.
Rooted in millinery, her practice has grown into a broader artistic language. Guided by an impulse to translate sensations, visions, dreams and experiences into physical form, she works intuitively through materials, craftsmanship and experimentation. Each piece can become the beginning of a wider story, extending through image, movement, sound, space and collaboration.
At the heart of her work is a desire to shift perception and create moments of reconnection. In a world that often distances us from the landscape around us, from the ground beneath us and the sky above, her artefacts invite us to sense ourselves differently, as part of something larger.
Alongside her independent practice, she has collaborated with international fashion houses including Burberry and Givenchy, as well as stage productions and institutions such as Teatro Colón and the Royal Opera House.
Her work has been recognised by Comité Colbert, UNESCO and the Argentine Public Media System. She is a member of the Michelangelo Foundation, the British Hat Guild, the Royal Ascot Millinery Collective and the Crafts Council UK.
Her practice continues to evolve through research into material transformation, ritual and spatial experience.