Melissa Yates
Responding to the values of beauty, goodness and truth present in Nature through the medium of drawing
works
Pencil on Panel
(285 x 235mm)
Dissolution
Is it Safe?
An Invitation
Time Will Tell
The Message
Pencil on 360gsm paper
270 x 318mm (framed size)
Viriditas
Vior
Pencil on 360gsm paper
501 x 402 mm (framed size)
The Missing Ones
Patterns in the Ivy
Memory of the Future
about
My work is asking: what can our sensory experience of the living world tell us about the nature of Nature?I am interested in what society considers 'valuable' and how our current culture is distorting our innate ability to discern meaningful value, leaving many feeling lost and damaging our living world. A school without walls, Nature provides embodied intrinsic value; a grounding force that can help orient us through difficult times and teach us directly about ourselves & reality.I turn to Nature as my guide through the transformative process that is living a life; the beauty of vulnerability, cycles of loss and renewal and embracing the mystery unknown are themes I engage with through symbol and metaphor.I find simple materials plus sustained attention a poetic way to cut through the noise of daily life and connect to its 'essence'. Pencil on paper or wooden panel allows the foundational elements of light, shadow and form to be emphasised. The resulting monochrome reveals the less obvious details, textures and spatial relationships that might otherwise go unseen.At its root, my practice is driven by the belief is that Nature is a dynamic, evolving, interconnected system, infused with intelligence and purpose. The ongoing enquiry underlying my work is a contemplation of how our human experience and awareness changes when we shift our perception of Nature from a 'mechanistic' worldview to a 'participatory' one.
