Barrister's Gallery, Hannah Chalew Statement

Hannah Chalew
Brief Artist Statement

My work explores the continual tension between humans and nature.
This battle is particularly acute in post-Katrina New Orleans where
abandoned structures that have fallen into the backdrop of the city’s
psyche have the full attention of Mother Nature as she slowly reclaims
them. These structures become new ecosystems, post-apocalyptic spaces
that are surreal—a mix of tragic and fascinating. I work from direct
observation to bring the experience of these spaces to the viewer, using
fragile materials like paper and thread to walk the tenuous line between
civilized and wild and to emphasize the ephemeralness of that line. I see
my drawings not only as records of these places but also as memorials
and meditations on the loss they bespeak. Time beats differently in
these zones as nature slowly creeps and begins to reclaim the
human-made. Often overlooked, these environments become statements
about the inextricable link between culture and nature, as they
battle for dominance.