Natalie Rydeís drawings appear as abstracted, meshed forms floating over the surface of the paper, sometimes tethered to the edges, often isolated and adrift. Distorted structures within geometric shapes and patterns suggest a visible energy disrupted by
an underlying force.
Ryde employs a free-hand, systemic drawing technique of interwoven lines that is visually resonant of her ancestorsí work in the textile industry. Her practice often references the patterns and repetitive actions that are common to human routine and movement. This series of work has in common the form of the circle or loop, emphasising the cyclical nature of life, the repeated experience familiar and yet different each time. A feeling of time passing and human energy is present in the labour-intensive drawings. The abstracted forms do not offer us instant answers about their origins, instead encourage a contemplative and personal interpretation.
Natalie Ryde's drawings are influenced by a flotsam of everyday observations from geometry and found patterns to scientific diagrams and organic forms. Shapes and patterns are often broken or incomplete at their source and the process of drawing netted forms in response to these altered guidelines has the effect of mending the original. The repetition of the interwoven lines undulating over the surface and disappearing into voids is captivating and has an almost meditative effect.