Natalia Edenmont was born in Yalta (Ukraine) and studied at the State Art School of Kyiv (Ukraine) from 1984 – 1987, and later at the Simferopol State Art School (Ukraine). She spent 1998 – 2001 at Forsberg’s International School of Design in Stockholm (Sweden). Her works (photographic art) have been exhibited widely across Europe, in Russia and the United States.

Melancholy, 2010, C-print, 159 x 131 cm

Bloom, 2012, C-print, 150 x 193 cm

Her art confronts a broad variety of subjects, always in a simple and clear way, but often mood-invoking. There is beauty in her images, but it’s combined with shock and horror, fear and loathing, such as when she makes finger puppets from dead white mice and nobody can be sure whether she actually killed the mice herself or just employed some good image processing. Natalia Edenmont has therefore been widely criticised – not by art critics, but by animal rights activists, vegetarians and so forth, people who have a low tolerance and confound their personal convictions with moral imperatives.

With her subjects, such as self-strangling beauties and innocent teen girls in darkened bedrooms, she is always the principal sorcerer, concocting a fascinating mixture of beauty and terror. The world into which Natalia Edenmont leads the beholder seems familiar, at least at first glance, but gradually one understands that hers is a new and rather strange world.

Asia, 2006, c-type print mounted on Perspex, 133 x 100 cm

Big Wedding, 2005, c-type print mounted on Perspex, 115 x 125 cm

In one of her works, a bare-breasted woman gazing out at the viewer is holding what initially appears to be a baby. Suddenly, one becomes aware that it’s not a baby at all, but rather a sizeable piece of raw meat. A lot of aesthetic philosophy, semantic and iconographic altercation occurs, alluding to our hidden fears, dark recollections and all these align to symbolise the precariousness of our existence. It’s as if someone is shouting “Off with their heads!” so we can hear that loud and clear, but have no idea whether the hidden Queen is referring to us.

Self Portrait (Death Bed ), 2008, C-print, 135 x 167 cm

Exhibition:

Nathalia Edenmont: Photographs

Recent exhibitions:

Only Child, 13.10.2012 - 05.01.2013, Alingsås konsthall, Alingsås, Sweden

Forget-Me-Not, 06.01.– 28.04.2012, Whitespace – The Mordes Collection, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA