Maker's Story - Natasha Evans, Visual Artist

What inspires Natasha and her creative processes...

The stories I have collected, some I thought I had forgotten, are stories that are carried with me and spill into the art I make.  The amazing things my father built and then destroyed, the way my mother was a soldier, how I believe I am a woman of Africa but my roots, my heritage and the colour of my skin say otherwise. 
When outside the studio, ideas relating to belonging, transition and human value are themes that motivate me to work and they form the basis of my creative intentions; and once inside the studio, my emotions, subconscious memory and personal experience force me to risk letting go of any pre-designed ideas and to experiment with process and the aesthetics of form and material. 

This intentional and unintentional interplay creates a spark then a fire and then a blaze.   

Gradually the need has fallen away to categorise my style as I shift between abstract and figurative and so I work with painting and collage, including gestural mark making, text and experimental photography into my practice.  In my most current work I use object as metaphor in unique conversation with my larger format paintings. I try and use materials and technique with purpose so the bigger idea has further to carry. 

Art to me is innate.  It has to resonate, and at the very least, it has to be honest.