Artist Statement
The concepts in my work are driven by a desire to (re)connect humans (including myself) with the Natural World at this crucial moment when the planet is experiencing a devastating loss of biodiversity due to anthropomorphic machinations. Life, death, rebirth, and evolution have been constant themes in my ever-evolving practice. Working initially with light-based media (photography, cyanotype, video), my methods have become interdisciplinary. My material-led practice is situated in the field of Speculative Taxidermy, as I investigate past and present human/animal relationships to question cultural ideas about the other-than-human and how this influences our ethical, social, and ecological behaviour towards the living world.
As a result, my practice involves observing, collecting, arranging, and collating an assortment of natural materials to communicate transformative narratives; not only in relation to the subject matter I address, but also with regard to both artist and viewer altered by the experience of engaging with nature through art. My interest in art as experience has led to artworks delivered through installation and performative artistic intervention, with a focus on creating opportunities for thinking together.
Bio
Natalie Field (b.1982) is an interdisciplinary artist from South Africa, with a Master of Fine Arts from Kunstakademiet i Trondheim, Norway. Field has exhibited internationally, with a solo at Berman Contemporary (ZA, 2018), and group shows at the National Museum of Wildlife Art (USA, 2023), K-U-K (NO, 2023), Rejmyre Art Lab (SE, 2022), Italgas Heritage Lab (IT, 2021), START Art Fair (UK, 2019), Arteles Creative Center (FI, 2016), and more. She has received several awards and was a recipient of an SKS Diversestipend in 2023, and a MiST Scholarship and Creature Conserve Mentorship respectively in 2022.
” i wonder if we are just ideas
born into the light,
shimmering with energy
before we return to the night “
Natalie Field