PORTFOLIO
ARTIST NOTES
When the Sky is Dark
This new series of work focuses on mental health, exploring anxiety with a primary focus on panic attacks. Panic attacks are a type of fear response, an exaggeration of your body’s normal reaction to danger and stress and everyone has different triggers. The fear of not sleeping is my biggest trigger, denying my body the rest it needs and deserves to heal. Most of my panic attacks happen in the middle of the night, the insomnia caused by a mix of hormones, peri-menopause, and the general stresses that life brings. The creation of this work instigates a healing process that explores an acceptance and deeper understanding of these triggers. Using a self portrait draws upon these intense emotions of pain, sadness and hope. The process - self-portrait image, fire, collage, re-photographing and my grandmothers’ embroidery.
In India, I am never lonely
I have always had an instinctive and powerful connection to India. Returning there to see my family rekindles an emotional and spiritual love that greatly inspires my creativity. This series of photographs capture individual moments and an evolving collage of popular culture, religion, news and advertising that reveal a forgotten backdrop to everyday life.
Urban Fabric
Urban Fabric is an ongoing collection of images that represent the beautiful found fabric and forgotten wallpaper of everyday life. After the birth of both of my children, I spent my entire existence walking around the streets of N19 (London Borough of Islington) slowly pushing a buggy. I started to see parts of the walls and streets that had perhaps gone previously unnoticed. When I had a rare moment, I had to capture these.
The Real Velvet Bindia
It all started with a packet of bindis. The holy dot (bindi) is worn by women on their forehead and signifies female energy. It can also be used as a form of personal expression. This concept attempts to illustrate how the bindi can represent an individual identifying with the world to communicate different feelings and influences at different times, drawing together both Indian and English culture that can involve conflicting attitudes and behaviours.
The Process – 35mm photography & collage using found antique newspapers, ephemera and imported Indian bindis.
M.E (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis)
M.E is a complex and debilitating illness that affects the immune system, the nervous system and every muscle in the body. It was not only the physical suffering that proved most trying, but also the emotional pain of doctors doubting that my illness even existed. My pain was invisible. My body felt like it was covered in bruises but my skin was flawless. After years of suffering I was finally diagnosed with M.E at the age of 21 and then began the slow road to recovery. Once I was strong enough, I was able to start to visualise this illness. Raising awareness for M.E is incredibly important to me and it is a project that is continually evolving. The images within this portfolio represent a personal visual medical journal.
The Process - 35mm Photography, Illustration, found ephemera, used objects, installation.
The Love Molecule
Researchers attribute the conversion of amino acid by the body into the chemical hormone phenylethylamine (PEA) to the phenomena of ‘falling in love’. The Love Molecule is a visual representation of both the biological process within the body and human emotion. It explores the emotion of love and the motion of falling in love.
fall in love. “So fare I-falling into love’s dance;” wrote a man smitten back in 1423, the first recorded use of the expression. It took over a century more for falling in love to detach itself from falling into love’s dance, but since then the phrase has been indispensable, suggesting so simply and well the dizzy loss of control of the love-struck.
The Process - The Love Molecule was originally created using ink on paper and then adapted using 35mm photography & collage.
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Copyright © 2019 Natasha Bhatia