Natalie (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist from London whose work focuses on connections between people and the impact of our personal histories. She honours her sensitivity to materials and flexible approach as a ‘toolkit’, working across a range of media including drawing, painting, printmaking and animation.
Natalie has recently been investigating her ancestral lineage both personally and through her practice. 'The things I have inside' (due for display in March 2024) are her articulation of the innate spiritual guidance that steers and protects her in life. The series is an extension of her ongoing work exploring her grandparents' experiences of coming to London, from Dominica in 1960 and Spain in 1965 respectively. Covering themes of immigration, generational trauma and perseverance, she balances heavier themes with humour through sentimental family stories.
The foundations of Natalie’s practice are materiality, shadows and texture. She makes some of her materials which enables her to connect with and understand their potential. Natalie’s work draws the viewer in by highlighting the intimacy in quieter moments, often through cleverly cropped compositions and delicate attention to shadows. Scale and rigour are imperative to her process as is maintaining a playful approach to texture, pushing the surface and medium to evoke an emotional response in the viewer.
Natalie is currently on the Drawing Year 2023/4 at the Royal Drawing School and graduated with a BA Hons in Illustration from the University for the Creative Arts in 2013. She worked as an animator before pivoting to Operations and Communications management for arts charities. She is a Trustee at Packed Lunch and Content Manager for Middleground magazine.
Photo by Kat Brown