Curiosity is my main driver. Most of my work starts with the question “I wonder how I could do that?” or, I’m just trying to satisfy my fascination, “I wonder what that would look like?”. I’m obsessed with geometry. I love shapes, symmetry, structure, minimal forms, the fundamental building blocks of the universe. I have an irrepressible urge to create these shapes in whatever medium I can get my hands on, harnessing the energy of my fascination, and distilling it into a meaningful experience for participants in whatever context I find myself in. Currently, I am focussing on participatory art, interactive light installations and generative code art.
Participation is at the heart of my practice. I do not consider observers when creating my work, rather participants. The outcome of my work, then, is not a commodified object but an active aesthetic experience. Claiming the body of the participant, and requiring them to come into presence and connection in a way that is all too uncommon in our alienated and entertained society. Community, then, is another key focus of my work. I am seeking to understand how to use the elements of structure, form, lighting and performance to create a space where participants feel comfortable, safe, centred and invited to interact with and connect with each other.
Bio
Sydney based new media artist, Nathan Starchild, works in participatory, interactive and generative art. He has a Master of Fine Arts in Transdisciplinary New Media from Paris College of Art, a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering. He has over a decade of experience leading multidisciplinary teams to deliver participatory public art installations across Australia, North America and Europe.
In 2017 he became the first artist based in Australia to be awarded a Black Rock City Honorarium Grant to develop and exhibit the installation Pleiadian Oasis at Burning Man, NV, USA. His Creative Code Art has been exhibited in group exhibitions including at Lightbox NYC, NYC, USA; Espace 15, Paris, France and UE Gallery, Berlin, Germany
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