The Things I Have Inside

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Exhibition text from Packed Lunch's website

“These [works] are the things I have inside that I toss out because there are burdens with which you cannot live or drag along…” - Belkis Ayón

Natalie Charles (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist from London whose work explores 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 of late been investigating her ancestry, personally and through her practice. The Things I Have Inside, a new body of work taking its name from a quote by Cuban printmaker Belkis Ayón that deeply resonated with her early on in her journey into generational healing, is an articulation of the innate spiritual guidance that steers and protects her in life. 

Natalie is currently on the Drawing Year 2023/4 at the Royal Drawing School having 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. Natalie is a Trustee at Packed Lunch Productions and Content Manager for Middleground Magazine.

A free exhibition organised by Packed Lunch Productions, with proceeds from all sales going to the artist’s growth and funding public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling.