Nature has at all times been a topic of fascination for Clara Lacy, who roamed the fields and streams round her residence in Hampshire when she was younger, spurring an curiosity in learning biology. Artwork additionally emerged as a means for her to channel her curiosity in animals and crops, tapping into the long-held custom of artists documenting natural world for science.
As she moved round to completely different components of the world, with stints in Hong Kong and Sydney earlier than returning to the U.Okay., Lacy absorbed every place’s variations in botanical life, climate, and light-weight, inspiring a physique of labor that displays on local weather change, species loss, and “the need to find balance between humans and nature,” she says.
The World Has Dropped Its Petals is a sequence of elaborately detailed graphite drawings illuminating the world of flowers. In closely contrasted grayscale, the blooms are devoid of the brilliant colours we usually affiliate with their petals and foliage, as a substitute highlighted by an array of textures and naturally occurring patterns.
“I’ve always been drawn to monotone work for its subtle tonal variations, offering a contrast to the bombardment of colour and light around us, all vying for our attention,” Lacy tells Colossal. She was drawn to graphite as a result of its restricted palette helps the topic to face out by means of contrasts like delicate traces or deep blacks. She’s additionally focused on how graphite is commonly ignored in tremendous artwork, categorised usually as a sketching materials moderately than a standalone medium.
Lacy titles her items after characters in Greek fantasy like Thanatos, the personification of demise, and twin brothers Nyx (Evening) and Hypnos (Sleep). She makes use of her personal photographs for reference, collaging and layering parts in Photoshop till she finds an total composition that resonates. The World Has Dropped Its Petals attracts inspiration from stills lifes of the Dutch Golden Age, too, characterised by darkish backgrounds from which flowers or fruit seem to pop in brilliance.
The sequence is on view by means of April 13 at James Gorst Architects in London. Lacy has additionally began engaged on a brand new venture exploring time and getting old, which emphasizes zoomed-in views of flower fragments. Discover extra on the artist’s web site and Instagram.
