Biography: Natasha Faye Jensen is an interdisciplinary artist from Moh’kins’tsis (Calgary), located in the Treaty 7 territory of Southern Alberta, Canada. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from the Alberta University of the Arts (formerly known as the Alberta College of Art and Design) in 2013, and she completed her Master of Arts (MA) in Contemporary Art Practice at the Edinburgh College of Art in 2020. Natasha has participated in both solo and group exhibitions, as well as festivals in Canada, the United States, Finland, and the United Kingdom.
Artist Statement: In my current research and studio practice, I am examining the garden as an active site of power. By exploring historical archives and the history of classification, I aim to uncover the colonial and ecological issues present within these spaces, highlighting the ideological struggles that occur in what may seem like passive environments. The garden is both a natural and unnatural space, particularly when we consider the extent of human intervention and cultivation involved.
I am exploring these ideas through various mediums, such as collage, photography, and film, each of which articulates these themes in a unique way. For instance, the act of cutting and collaging can be seen as a form of violence that removes subjects from their context, creating an implied trauma on the paper that is irreversible. This exploration seeks to reveal garden spaces as more than just aesthetically pleasing; it examines their history as a catalyst for discussions about social and political change related to the climate crisis, decolonization, and gender equality.