Artist Statement
I’m interested in art as a way of engaging in conversations with the more-than-human world: lichens, trees, forests, stones. Like my ancestors before me, every artwork is an offering for our collective futures.
Through research and contemplation using cob sculpture and oil painting as a language for my body to listen to the beings of a place, I develop site-specific artworks and plein air paintings inspired by concepts within lichenology, depth psychology, and complexity sciences. Materiality is important to me, and I use site-specific materials as much as possible, including home-milled lumber from dead fall trees, local clay and mineral pigments, and fiber from the grass clippings of nearby lawns.
For humans, my greatest hope is that we remember how to listen with our imaginations; we need the guidance of the earthly beings more than ever.
Artist Bio
Nastassja Noell (she/they) is a lichenologist, artist, and writer. Her paintings and sculptures embody dialogues with the forests, deserts and sidewalk cracks around us. Her art and creative writing have been published by the Dark Mountain Project, Khora Magazine, and other venues; her flash fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize; and she is a recipient of the United Plant Savers’ Deep Ecology Artists Fellowship. Nastassja has led lichen biodiversity research projects throughout the Americas, co-authored the book Delmarva Lichens (Torrey Botanical Press), the chapter “Radical Lichenology” in the incredible book Radical Mycology (Chthaeus Press), as well as peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals. Nastassja lives in the Southern Appalachians on the ancestral lands of the Cherokee People with her partner, lichenologist and photographer Jason Hollinger. Together their garden feeds them, the forests around them share with them wood for her art, and the soil flows through her hands into sculptures. When she’s not in the wilds, you can find Nastassja at Western Carolina University where she’s currently a second year student in the MFA Studio Art program.
Current Portfolio
