 The increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has led to an increase of carbon dioxide in the waters of the oceans, resulting in a decrease in pH and the related dissolution of calcium carbonate compounds such as shells and molluscs, plankton and corals. As a result, entire coral reefs have died and others have suffered a halt in their development; the multiplicity of shapes and colours of these natural structures has given way to white, translucent, ghostly expanses.
The same fate seems to have befallen human structures in Barbara Nati's digital elaborations: buildings transmuted into evanescent constructions. Concrete, masonry, steel, everything is corroded and dematerialised, and all that remains of human engineering works are transparent appearances. Man and nature seem at first glance to share a similar misfortune, yet on closer reflection, distinct feelings arise for the two fates. Looking at the discoloured and deadly expanses of coral reefs, one feels despondent and angry, because we know that the cause is man-made, that it is we, our society, who are causing it, releasing billions of tonnes of CO2 into the environment every year when it should and could reduce its emission. Observing Barbara Nati's Briny Chronicles, one is rather struck by deep melancholy and nostalgia, as if one were standing in front of the ruins of a civilisation of the past, ruins that nature is slowly encompassing and making disappear, and it is precisely this progression of natural time that seems less unfair than the effects of technology on life.
At the bottom of the matter, industrial society, as it is still set up, attacks nature with often irreversible effects that reverberate painfully and dramatically on mankind as well, with desertification, water and food crises, and disease. If we do not decide now to change the way we use the Earth's resources and produce, the prophecy could turn out to be correct and the whole of human history could fade away, losing itself in the reflections of the sea sky, without great suffering for nature.


Briny chronicles

As almost all of the land above and below sea level has been explored, humans have anthropomorphized nature to the point of turning it into mere statistics, which are essential to the development of devices, nutrition plans and sports training.The unknown is neglected, or is rather, compartmentalized within the wider agenda, and thus easily dealt with.

Cages of tranquillity

Towering pillars of vegetation rise to the sky; tangled trunks, branches, creepers and lianas intertwine creating horizontal clusters. Concrete islands grow in the middle of an endless grassland that overlays the ground. The kingdoms have reversed, plants replace engineering work, trees create flyovers and bridges, meadows shape roads and roundabouts. By building majestic compositions Barbara Nati draws the viewer’s attention with a direct focus, using very simple visual contrasts - The tragic inequality between the overflowing manmade structures made of concrete and steel versus the lonesome elements dedicated to nature. This body of work is a stark portrait of the infringement of present times whilst outlining a new enhanced perspective for the future.

Add

barbara nati

Opportunities

For Artists

ArtConnect

Support