Nathalie Lawrence

I find comfort in knowing that I am not alone, & romance among the ruins and rubble of antiquity. There are times of peace and times of war. It’s in our nature. All of us underneath the same stars. This has happened before. In another place, another culture, another time.

History repeats itself, but it is often forgotten. Forgotten in an instant, a moment, in a single glance. What is the scope for which you see the world?

I am a microcosm, a single entity in a vaster picture.

Civilizations rise and fall, and the ideas that rule them are recorded. Everything turns to dust, but ideas transcend the maker in The Human Archive.

Animals are often imbued with human characteristics in mythology and folklore. We create hybrid and mutated beasts to explore the inner workings of the human mind. Our lizard brain, the Medulla Oblongata, rules the world. Makes us both human and animal at the same time.

I am the Human-Animal. The human-animal creates its habitat, invents its infrastructure, and records its history. A mixture of instincts, experiences, and psychology.

It can be measured, it can be felt, it can be built!

I use archival materials…. in a message hoping to transcend time. Creating three-dimensionally, at a human scale, so that ideas inhabit the same space and place as the audience.

Forged in Fire milled steel is synonymous with labor. Sweet upon my brow, I use my hammer to push into the form. A man-made material: iron, & carbon, sparks fly as welds join components. Surfaces are sanded, buffed, and sometimes painted.

The shiny luminosity of the steel is contrasted with the earthiness and varied textures of the wood I select for my sculptures. One material from man, the other from nature.

Each tree is unique, and each wood grain tells a story. A fingerprint for its time and place. The weather patterns mark rings inside the tree’s trunk. Trees, like us, wear their experiences like wrinkles developed over time. A tree can have a scar, just like a human. Some wood is rigid and hard, while others are soft and easy to carve. Some are sappy and gummy, while others are dry and brittle. I research the wood I select, each having a different color, density, and wood grain. Through labor, the wood's workability is discovered. It is then bezelled and fastened to the steel structures… an embellishment.

In my labor, I find authenticity. I create the narrative developed from situations in my life juxtaposed with art history. Intuitively working, a broad idea to guide me. Creating a new lexicon made up of hybrid animals, and historic architectural elements.

Predators and Prey. Heroes, Heroines, Villains, and Plebes. Bravery, love, sacrifice, honor, and duty. The story arc, the journey, the adventure.

Among the human archives, what can be learned? The macrocosm of our existence. So many answers to one great question.

What does it mean to be human?