Julia Lamb
In my concisest terms, my artwork explores the human experience, especially its entanglement with the organic world, whether for better or worse. Allbeit, as evident in the chronological order of my portfolio, the lens which I explore did not come quite as naturally. Nevertheless, I have found a directive in pushing both myself and viewers to examine further the duality of these relationships. It goes without saying that humans are a part of that natural environment, and oftentimes our coexistence is remarkably harmonious, and I find much comfort in it. However, my work also presents a simultaneous conflict through human attempts to subvert or transcend its principles and order.
I leverage the fluidness of ewatercolor–a motif in my portfolio–to capture such themes. I enjoy the delicate process of coaxing the pigment, layering and blending, creating the finest strokes. It is an entirely unforgiving medium. Furthermore, my palette is a perpetual array of earth tones; I appreciate vibrancy, but leverage more organic hues. By doing so, I intend to mimic the precision of mother nature’s artistry.
“Lifeline” is meant to hold a dual interpretation, furthering my lens. First, one can view the ways in which the plots form around the river as representative of human cooperation and appreciation of nature’s beauty and dominance. However, it also demonstrates discordance between the geometric, inorganic lines of the land and more natural bends and fractals of the river. Though, for this piece, as I used no reference to be truthful to the ‘instinctual aesthetics’ aspect of the project, it’s arguable that none of it is truly organic as it’s the production of a human mind. The colors, shapes, and composition of the piece were entirely impulsive.