A part from Nature

Erica Konrad

August 5 – September 17

Opens August 5 at 7 pm

A part from Nature includes monotypes, paintings, photographs and free standing sculptures, all processed with encaustic. Encaustic is created from heated beeswax and damar resin with colour pigments added.

Artist Statement

Gratitude, wonder and a sense of protection is a common emotion when one experiences awe inspiring nature. Despair of what is happening to our planet is another emotion. Standing outside of the natural world, looking in, observing, trying to connect, rather than simply being part of, is a constant struggle that I find myself navigating.  Creating a visual dialogue through encaustic (beeswax and damar resin), I aim to examine the duality of preservation and the balance required from a human centered viewpoint. My work explores the concepts of standing apart or outside from a human perspective, versus the reality that everything that exists is part of one intricately interconnected whole.

I struggle with the concept of being a part from nature or apart from it. Our actions often dictate being apart from nature, so with this work, it is my intention to fuse memory, freeze the moment, and symbolically strengthen our connection to the Earth. Encased in wax, obscured but suggested, my work attempts to provide the viewer with a starting point to begin contemplating their own relationship with the wild and how they relate.  As we lose our connection with wild spaces and species, using beeswax as the primary medium is intentional, to serve as a reminder to the viewer that we are part of the cycle itself, part of the wild, embedded in, anchored to, part of.