Let me tell you all about me,
better yet, let Sharnae Hope tell you all about me.
Hamilton-based artist Natasha Lester, has a Bachelor of Media Arts (Visual Arts) specialising in painting and illustration.
Having grown up in a creative environment, delving into art wasn’t something out of the ordinary, however, her obsession with human behaviour and their complexities is what made it stick.
Since graduating, she has honed in her skills with a focus on pop surrealism and low brow- crossing the lines of fine art and street art.
Using mixed mediums such as ink, oil paint, spray paint, fabric, magazine clippings and often whatever is lying around the house, Natasha’s works explore opposing themes to challenge viewers’ ideals, using pop-culture to do so.
Her distinctive personal style questions social perceptions- predominately in beauty and femininity- pushing the boundaries of what’s considered ‘acceptable’ or in her own words; “how far you can take this before it’s seen as ugly”.
On a normal day she’s found hunched over in her bedroom, blaring ‘The Wild One’ by Suzi Quatro, obsessing over every aspect of her art down to the frame it sits in- at the moment the 70's are raging.
Each frame has been picked specifically to either compliment or oppose the piece- making it a part of the art itself.
Her influences include: Daniel Clowes, Candy Weil, Richard O’Brien, Baz Luhrmann, Dita Von Teese, Joan Jett and Chuck Palahniuk.
These artists may come from various fields and background, but each have elements of influential importance.