Natali Papak’s art practice provides a space where themes of renewal, loss, re-birth and change are explored. The use of clay as a medium connects her to lost cultures and mysteries of the past, forming the basis for an immersion into the study of ancient artefacts as well as her Croatian heritage. This examination of the past has led her to ruminations on elemental magic, the cycles of nature, rising sea levels and the creation of hybrid life-forms.
This series is built around the creation of 39 ceramic works. The works produced co-exist in the gallery space, forming a collective of sentient beings that rely on one another for survival. The hybrid life-forms imaged in the wall-mounted pieces are diverse, yet they fit into groupings that represent the elements of earth, water, fire and air. The inter-relationship of these elements is at the heart of this project. By virtue of having engaged with the clay, and taking it through the process of vitrification, these sculpted reliefs exist as a testament to alchemical transformation.
Looking into the historical context for the creation of humanoid-hybrids, these sculpted Anthropocene babies are borne of an investigation into archaeological fragments that endure as evidence of beliefs, rituals and ways of understanding the world that have become antiquated and sidelined. This body of work seeks to revive a celebration of slow living as well as provide a place for meditation on concepts of survival, evolution and change.
‘Elemental Coterie’ presents anomalies, perceived deficiencies, superstitions, sorrow, folktales, ‘impurity’, the hand-made and hybrids in an elevated state. These qualities are held near, accepted, embraced, externalised and offered up to the universe.
The act of creating an objet d’art as an acknowledgement of; or tribute to, a sense of loss, hurt or shame performs a role that is akin to that of the object-based anatomical votives of ancient Greco-Roman culture that have been found all over the Mediterranean region. However, within the context of ancient history, terracotta votives were produced en masse using moulds, which reveals how widespread their use was. The symbolic weight of the selection and identification with a specific item played a role in providing a context for rumination on, and the expression of, concerns about a physical manifestation. Could these tangible features also have represented a mysterious, intangible, undefined and potentially suppressed emotional or spiritual injury?
…Perhaps by taking a more measured and balanced approach to our place in the world, one may discover the potential for an abject quality to become a catalyst for greater knowing, change, evolution and the development of a more adaptable nature. Are we collectively ready to pull back the veil?
