The Naturalist makes reference to Seamus Heaney’s poem, Death of a Naturalist (1966). It focuses on the first stanza in which the child encounters the natural world with openness and curiosity, before an unfiltered connection to nature is lost. In the right panel, a list of adjectives is adapted from Gerard Manley Hopkins’ rhapsodic poem, Pied Beauty (1877).
Video of this work in process at Dieu Donné studios: https://vimeo.com/944945073
The Naturalist
2024
Handmade pigmented cotton paper, embossed with custom 3D forms generated from line drawings. Embossed areas are gilded with 12 karat gold (left panel) and 22 karat gold (right panel).
Overall dimensions 60 x 80 inches (unframed)
The Naturalist diptych was commissioned by Arkansas Museum of Fine Art for my 2024 solo exhibition, Tricia Wright: The Naturalist, and acquired for the museum's permanent collection.