Natalia Millman
My work investigates the process of ageing, the impact of grief and the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature.
I look closely at the damage time imposes on the human body and mind, affecting the structures in the brain responsible for language, memories, and consciousness, in people with dementia.
Through my work, I have looked at physical changes that happen to the human body through time, the effect of dementia on the brain, the process of grieving, memory loss, the social barriers that segregate the old, and versions of afterlife. My sculpture “Neurons Misbehaving” represents the protein clusters that accumulate in the brain structure when dementia starts to develop, causing loss of connection between neurons.
Having produced “Vanishing Point”, my latest body of work, I now proudly represent Arts 4 Dementia, a leading UK charity promoting creativity for people affected by dementia and raise awareness and compassion.
Much of my work is constructed from material found on building sites, which I give another life to by modifying its past function. Burning, cutting, and breaking, then mending and repairing. Treasuring the ordinary or broken is an essential part of my creative practice.
Through my art I look at resilient grieving; growth in the midst of a challenge or cultivation of post traumatic-growth. The response to my grief related pieces highlights the idea of open communication about the stigma of mortality and loss. “Grief Elixir” describes the known five stages of grief and healing when tears are released. My recently launched “Grief Letter” project gets positive support from people around the world who want to communicate their grief, with many finding it a more manageable step towards accepting and embracing the new you, being compassionate, curious and non-judgmental towards yourself. “Grief Letter” is a community-based project where people can share their personal experience of loss and grief in a form of a letter. The letters are responded by me individually through different media.
I continue to study the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature: the contrast between natural harmony and human distress, the correlation in growth and decay, the energies of spaces, transience of human form, and the value of mindful reflection on the present moment.
My mixed media abstract paintings comment on physical decay and the process of becoming one with nature. Both “Fragility” and “What lies beneath” comment on the idea of symbiotics when body fertilizes the soil and gives way for new life in nature. My work with wire ash focuses on mortality and rejuvenation. When it is burnt, it transforms into new. I incorporated hair and shapes of body parts to draw attention to the beauty of the ageing body. I draw attention to the feeling of care and support for the disappearing and unwanted in “Fragment of your skin”. My photographs and video featuring hands, communicate the importance of human connection in times of loss and are symbols of support and hope.
@nataliamillmanart
