Ultramarine, Beyond the Sea

Natasha Thomas

Drawing is where it all starts for Natasha Thomas, developing a creative jumping-off point to explore ideas and develop compelling works across a range of mediums. The intricate yet fluid inks in 'River Kelvin' and 'Skirt' provide a fascinating insight into the artist's process, which culminates in larger, sculptural pieces. The beautiful curved marble effect in 'Serif' and the finely wrought pattern of interlocking circles in 'Clay Puzzle' may seem to be a part of traditional ceramic decorating techniques, but looking closely, the 'function' of these vessels becomes more and more uncertain. This reaches a climax in the enormous 'Waterworks', a hulking sculpture resembling a well, covered in intricate ceramics and made with steel, plaster, wax and gravel. Inviting a deeper consideration of these objects beyond their status as 'vessels' is part of Natasha's artistic project: one that pushes for deeper looking, new ways of engaging with work, creating 'mythical worlds that deconstruct presupposed ways of looking apparent in the Western Cannon'. Each of Natasha's pieces, then, is more than the piece itself - formed from an immersion in research and the written word, a product of the sedimentation of years of history and dense association, that offers up new connections, and a new vision.