Wood and Ink (Framed)

These works appear to be brushed ink drawings, complete with accidental drops of ink, executed with the skilful ease and speed of a Japanese calligrapher. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that the strokes are instead meticulously carved into wood, with the grain subtly visible within the strokes, betraying its printed nature. Some of the brushstrokes exhibit crisp linework, while others bleed like an actual ink drawing. This is not a simple effect to recreate in a woodcut, and takes careful planning and an intimate familiarity with the material to execute. The end result is a print that does not read like a print while simultaneously embracing the tell-tale marks of a woodcut.

Natasha Norman

Natasha completed her Honours (2005) and Masters (2011) degree in Fine Art at the University of Cape Town. She currently works as a part-time lecturer, arts writer and practicing artist. Throughout her art training and career she has consistently been inspired by the medium and technical challenges of print. She trained in traditional Western print methods at the University of Cape Town and subsequently attended residencies in Japan to study the Japanese relief print method, Mokuhanga.

Natasha’s mastery of printmaking enables her to work across various print techniques. Her work is deeply inspired by her experiences of the natural world. Her practice is about experiencing time and place. In her optically shifting colour layers and planes of marks and tone is an elementary, sensory memory.

In recent works, Natasha has taken much inspiration from the Japanese cultural aesthetic wabi sabi. Her study of this term that defies translation has fostered an appreciation for the beauty in transient natural moments and a sense of spiritual well-being centred on imperfection and simplicity. The theme of her work tends toward expressing the momentary and experiential in a pared-down language of mark and form that seeks to evoke a resonant response in the viewer rather than portray a particular event.

Natasha has lectured at various institutions and universities in South Africa and published as an independent writer. For a full list of exhibitions and project involvement please see her artist's CV.   

Natasha Norman Curriculum Vitae

Natasha Norman (b. 1982) currently lives and works in Cape Town.

Education

2011 Masters in Fine Arts at UCT: Further Fictions in Print
2005 BA Fine Arts (Printmedia) at UCT

AWARDS AND GRANTS

2009 & 2010 KW Johnstone Research Scholarship
2009 & 2010 Ernst and Ethel Erikson Trust Bursary, MacIver Scholarship, 2009 Jules Kramer Travel Scholarship
2008 Absa L’atelier Finalist
2007 Sasol New Signatures Finalist
2006 Absa L’atelier Finalist

ARTIST RESIDENCIES AND PROJECT INVOLVEMENT

2021 The Printing Girls Relief Print Exchange, Johannesburg.
2021 South Atlantic Press, two woodblock print publications, Cape Town.
2020 South Atlantic Press. Artist collaborative print publishing, Cape Town.
2017 Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory. Lake Kawaguchi Artist-in-Residence, Mokuhanga Advanced Training, Japan.
2015 Artist Proof Studios Artist-in-Residence, print collaboration/co-publication, Johannesburg.
2014 Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory. Lake Kawaguchi Artist-in-Residence, Mokuhanga Basic Training, Japan.
2013 Coordinator and participant in international symposia Between the Lines in Cape Town, Braunschweig and Berlin. Project funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the context of The German-South African Year of Science 2012/2013.
2010 Mixtape Mobile Cinema for Grahamstown Art Festival, South Africa
2009-2012 Editions manager for ArtThrob Contemporary Arts Journal’s fine art print portfolio 2009 Curator of exhibition Proof of Life at VANSA Project Space, Cape Town. 2007–2010 Editorial Assistant to ArtThrob online Contemporary Arts Journal

SELECT EXHIBITIONS

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

COLLECTIONS

The One and Only Hotel, Cape Town, acquired 2022.
Art Bank South Africa, acquired 2020.
Art Gazette, London and South Africa, acquired 2021.
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, acquired 2019.
Eduardo Sanz Collection, Santander, Spain, donated 2018.
MI-Lab, CfSHE: Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory, Tokyo, donated 2017. MI-Lab, CfSHE: Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory, Tokyo, donated 2014. Michaelis School of Fine Art, Print collection, donated 2011.
The University of Cape Town, Public Art Collection, acquired 2005.

SOCIETIES AND AFFLIATIONS

The Mokuhanga Sisters, International Artist Group, since 2022
The Printing Girls, South African Woman’s Print Art Group, since 2020

Mokuhanga Kai, Society of South African Mokuhanga practitioners, founding member 2019 Foundwork, Online Artist Platform, since 2018
VANSA, Visual Arts Network of South Africa, since 2014
Golden Key Society Membership, since 2003