Natalie Gerber
Natalie writes, "My practice aims to gain a deeper understanding of the female form by investigating the impact of memory, perception and performativity on the embodied female experience. Through a multi-layered dialogue between textiles, porcelain, photography, print media and book arts that is conceived and realized in relation to my own body, I thread together subjectivity and materiality. In this process, I turn to phenomenology which explores the complexity of subject-object relations and the integrated relationships between mind and body, intentionality and action. In exploring these concepts I address reoccurring themes of identity, displacement and orientation within my work, while consider what it is to be a maker. To learn and unlearn yourself is a humbling and vulnerable act. This approach has taught me to see both my work and my own self as something that gathers meaning—forever evolving. Becoming.”
Born in South Africa (Durban), the Calgary-based artist Natalie Gerber began her studies at The Natal Technikon, in Fashion Design. After immigrating to Canada her interests in textiles developed while studying at The Alberta College of Art + Design, and later through postgraduate studies at the London College of Fashion in London (England). Following a decade focused on her design practice in textile printing, the artist earned her MFA in Craft Media from the Alberta University of the Arts. Gerber’s artistic practice addresses the intersection of craft and design, explored through interdisciplinary experimentation and research in textiles, ceramics, photography, print media and book arts.
