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. Another time, another place, another life. I am a microcosm, a single entity in a vaster picture. I exist in the present.

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 think, therefore I am” (Descartes), I create, therefore I become.

I read books as I look at art throughout the ages. Listen to the news to learn about our world in the present day. All in the quest to search for meaning. This has happened before. In another place, another culture, another time.

We are all connected and share a common ancestor, the human genome. It’s all a matter of biology.

We are Human.

Our lizard brain, the Medulla Oblongata, rules the world. Makes us both human and animal at the same time.

I am the Human-Animal.

A mixture of instincts, experiences, and psychology.

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. We coexist. Adapting some animals to live with us… (farming, domestication), while respecting others in their wild habitats. Living in symbiosis with the planet and its inhabitants.

The human-animal creates its habitat, invents its infrastructure, and records its history.  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.

One of many, and one of a kind.

As human beings, we connect the past, present, and future.

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 welded and hammered by my hands. Sweat on my brow, steel work is synonymous with labor.  A man-made material of industry and invention. I use my hammer to push into the form. A hundred movements to shape my design. Sparks fly as welds join components. Surfaces are sanded and buffed, 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. I use history as a means for relating to other humans, both in the past and in the present day.

In life, I encounter challenges and struggles. Pain is never permanent, but a means for change and growth. The highs and lows of a lifetime. I feel joy, and I feel pain. “Your pain is part of your greatness,” (Buddha). In my art, I find renewal.

I look for guidance in the stories that preceded me. Seek wisdom and understanding in both my research and the processes for which I create art. Intuitively working, a broad idea to guide me. Creating a new lexicon made up of hybrid animals and stories from the past and present day.

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?