Nathalie Lawrence

From the ashes of antiquity. This has happened before. In another place, another culture, another time. There are times of peace and times of war. It’s in our nature. All of us underneath the same stars.

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; the ideas that rule them recorded. Everything turns to dust, but ideas transcend the maker in The Human Archive.

Animals are often imbued with human characteristics in myth, fable, legend and fairy tale. We create hybrid and mutated beasts to explore the human mind's inner workings. Our lizard brain, the Medulla Oblongata, rules the world. Makes us both human and animal at the same time.

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

Creating three-dimensionally, at a human scale. The sculptures come together to create a fiction: Animals, (the characters: protagonists & antagonists), architectural elements, (the setting), and repeated objects, (the action) moves the story along. I select representational imagery from history for its meaning, building new ideas from my personal experience with archival materials.

Forged in fire, milled steel is synonymous with labor. Sweet upon my brow, I use my hammer to push into the form. The cadence of my hammer matches that of my heartbeat. A man-made material: iron, chromium & carbon; sparks fly as welds join components. The various textures are made with multiple fabrication techniques. Careful attention is always given to the metal’s edge.

Surfaces are sanded, buffed, and hand-painted. Enamel Pin-Striper’s Paint is used to accentuate the metalwork without covering it up. Light reflects off the surface of the steel, while color is added for content. Like adorning the body with pigments and makeup, or the skin-break of a tattoo, paint highlights the metal’s natural beauty; it does not cover it. Metal like skin.

The shiny luminosity of the steel is contrasted with the earthiness and varied textures of the wood I select for my sculptures. A dichotomy with inherent symbolism: One material 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. The wood's workability is discovered through making; then it is bezelled, riveted, and fastened to the structures… an embellishment that adorns the steel.

In my labor, I find authenticity. I create new narratives developed from situations in my life juxtaposed art history. Intuitively working, a broad idea to guide me, sculptures are caught in suspended animation, their actions depicting pivotal points in the story. The artwork is a cross-pollination of time, place, & my individuality. Life’s experience choosing the focal point. Creating a visual lexicon made up of personified animals, neon architecture and installation that culminates in a present day mythos.

Predators and Prey. Heroes, Heroines, Villains, and Plebes. Bravery, Love, Justice, Equality, Sacrifice, Honor, and Duty. The story arc, the journey, the adventure.

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

What does it mean to be human?

By: Nathalie Lawrence