Charli Nova

Eel acrylic painting, infused with river water, on found timber that won the Judge's Award for the Estuary Art and Ecology Award 2025.

Artist statement: Tāmaki river is an important, but polluted, river in Aotearoa New Zealand with dwindling eel numbers reflecting a dire situation. Longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii) is at risk of extinction. Like eels, we’re chained to water for survival. 

Chained to Tāmaki explores and captures the eel’s importance and their environment. A diseased eel suspended in darkness is painted with river water on a plank. The wood represents a likely item found around rivers; chains are adorned with patterns inspired by Māori art and water ripples on glossy surfaces comparable to eels. Chains illustrate the polluting metals and metaphorical ‘chain’ to nature. 

Flowers, drawn digitally using Procreate / 2025

A battle of dog-like creatures, digital work using procreate based on an original pen on paper drawing.

When Earth Feels Too Much, 520mm x 380mm x 80mm (variable), Acrylic paint, charcoal pigment, and HMA glue on 280gsm canvas.

Being on Earth sometimes feels too much to bear, and at the same time the Earth seems to be ‘feeling’ too much in that it is suffering through human causes.

The work depicts grief as a visceral, uncontainable, outward spillage of emotion; expressing unrest or seeking to escape itself. A combination of plastic and natural materials was specifically chosen to speak to climate collapse recalling unstable ecologies, oil spills, or the inevitabilities of destruction. The work has the ability to represent double meanings, as seen in its title, the chaotic shapes can also be seen as a depiction of the cerebral webs inside the brain. I aim to personify the Earth's emotions and my own climate grief through the colour black. Being on Earth sometimes feels too much to bear, and at the same time the Earth seems to be ‘feeling’ too much in that it is suffering through human causes. Like the mind, both natural and destructive, the chaos of grief cannot be contained within the restraints of a canvas. 

This work was selected as a finalist for a national art award in February.

Two-headed Deer, oil paint on canvas; lowkey inspired by the film Annihilation 🦌  

♥ One of my favourite paintings! This one is from 2016 and reworked in 2021. Done with multiple pieces of paper for a 3d effect, string and oil paint  ♥

Hand-sewn, bat pattern, pouch bag for small things like jewellery, coins, or your 🍃 ;)

Ethically sourced wasp preserved in clear resin and put onto a cute fabric choker !🥰🐝

Unfortunately a few bubbles showed up but it still looks pretty cool and freaky to look at its little face !

𝕿𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖘𝖈𝖊𝖓𝖉 𝕭𝖊𝖆𝖚𝖙𝖞

▪ This design was created from my own text and painting.▪

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘛𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥." Text from: 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰 𝘜𝘴, Warsan Shire, 2014. Design by me.

A pencil drawing that i'm not sure I'll ever fully finish, 2021.

Collaged images from magazines

𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝖂𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝕹𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝕿𝖔𝖚𝖈𝖍 𝕸𝖊 𝕬𝖌𝖆𝖎𝖓, 2022.

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘞𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦, journal entry, 2022

“𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘱.” 

Richard Siken’s 𝘐 𝘏𝘢𝘥 𝘈 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘠𝘰𝘶, 2000. │ Design by me, 2021.