The Nature of Looking: Art, Femininity, and The Natural World
Join an engaging talk with contemporary British artist Claire Luxton in ‘The Nature of Looking.’
Explore the power of art, diving into the connections between nature, the female form, and the various ways we see the world. Luxton will delve into the beauty of nature in art, discussing how artists find inspiration in the natural world. Luxton’s expressive works will uncover the essence of nature in art and its impact on our perceptions and public spaces. The talk also delves into the portrayal of the female form in art, unraveling its symbolism, empowerment, and challenges.
Luxton’s striking depictions explore the evolving story of women in art and its influence on society. ‘The Nature of Looking’ breaks free from conventional perspectives, urging the audience to ponder alternative views and see the world through a creative lens. Luxton will reveal how artists challenge norms, shedding light on the transformative power of art to reshape our understanding of the world. Join us for an inspiring discussion that crosses boundaries, prompting you to rethink the nature of looking and see the world anew through the eyes of these influential voices in the art community.
A Unique Artwork for Borde Hill Garden Festival
To accompany her talk, Claire is creating a unique artwork tailored specifically for Borde Hill Garden Festival, which will be exhibited inside the Elizabethan House throughout the weekend.
This work will be a conceptual portrait, taking historical references and contemporary digital techniques to blend together painting and photography. Claire’s creative process begins with extensive research, weaving together themes of female experience and the natural world that invite viewers to explore a narrative. To complement her visual storytelling, Claire will accompany the artwork with a poem, written simultaneously as the artwork unfolds, adding another layer of depth to the viewer’s experience.
Speaker Bio - Claire Luxton
At the junction of theatre, performance, photography, and technology, Claire Luxton explores the art of self-representation. Luxton started her education focusing on photography, however she felt constrained by the limits of medium-specificity. At that time, she started shaping her visual language and quickly realised that her preferred source material was her own physicality. Her body became the most appropriate tool to explore emotions, affections and concerns. At the centre of her practice lies her own vulnerability as a way to connect with viewers.
By assuming different disguises and utilising self-portraiture as a powerful medium, Luxton deftly engages with multifaceted notions of female identity, earning her recognition as a contemporary artist who, much like Cindy Sherman, skillfully navigates diverse narratives and perspectives.
Often triggered by something she has read, Luxton’s work delves into a variety of histories. Most of her projects start with an extensive research period where she looks for literary, artistic, botanical, animalistic and musical references, as well as exploring colour, texture, and objects. Using her own human features — eyes, nose, lips and hands — as a base for her compositions, she constructs otherworldly narratives, populated by butterflies, flowers and clouds. Inspired by Italian and Northern Renaissance portraits, all the components of her images play with classical symbolism.
A way into interpreting her portraits is through her carefully crafted titles and accompanying poems, such as Unravel, 2023. Luxton performs detailed narratives for the camera. Her images first exist as a sculpted set, where the model, herself, shape-shifts through cosmetics, props and light. And all ornamentations compliment each other. An immersive quality, or element, is achieved thanks to post-production digital technology, leaving the viewer wondering if they are looking at a painting or photography. Luxton states that she “creates canvases thanks to photography”. More recently, as a way to share her fantastical universe with a broader public, she has been projecting her work in public space, allowing buildings to become her canvas. As well as this, Luxton sheds light on the intricate dynamics between humankind and technology through her art, such as in The Wishing Well, 2020, which incorporates a USB plug into the figure’s collarbone. The piece establishes connections to our profound dependence on technology, offering a poignant commentary on society’s relationship with it and how it has seamlessly intertwined itself into the fabric of our lives.
Inspired by art history’s masterpieces, Luxton explores the place of humans in nature and the specificity of the female experience in society, including prejudices built around the opposition of beauty and intellect or mental health. Luxton’s themes are beauty and life, decay and death, melancholy, and romanticism.
