Natalia Millman Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
I am a conceptual artist based in London. I moved to London from Ukraine in 2001 and have been a part of Studio Fridays until 2022. I am self taught and draw my inspiration from the connection between humans and nature, exploring transience, change, grief, loss and ageing. I am the Ambassador of Arts 4 Dementia & run community workshop for people with dementias.
Much of my work is constructed from material found on building sites, which I represent as visions of my own inner fears: ageing, loneliness, change and mortality. My organic materials are glued, wired and layered tightly, interconnecting and merging into each other. I am telling a story of my personal cultural dilemma and the experience of loss. I am currently researching the philosophy of ageing. I enjoy researching my body of work through books and dialogues. My symbolic objects remind us of mortality, fragility of life, memory loss and passing physicality. I am trying to transform decay into something beautiful, therefore giving it another life. My ongoing community Grief Letter project colllects letters from public to which I am responding through mark making and performance. I explore commucal grief from the point of view of a migrant from Ukraine. Another project has a strong message of fear of ageing process and the stigma of dementia. I am explicitly highlighting the damage that time imposes on human body and mind, how Dementia erases language and memories. I would like to highlight the current social denial and dehumanising power of vulnerable and old. My process is intuitive and experimental adn I use techniques such as burning, tearing, destroying as a catalyst forces to create new work.
Artwork
Ageing Project, 2020