Natasha Ber has been inspired by her dreams and a strong connection to nature in creating a highly contemplative and symbolic new series of paintings for her forthcoming exhibition ‘Innocence to Sin’. Please join us on opening night 4 – 6pm Saturday 23 February at Metropolis Gallery – ALL WELCOME!

 ‘Exploration of my dreams began at an early age when I would search for an interpretation of things I had seen and experienced while sleeping. I was fascinated by the emotional impact a dream could have on me, determined to find out what happens in our brains during sleep and what part do dreams actually play in our conscious life. I began to collect and sketch the most memorable and important dreams that had a strong emotional response and during the last year the works for this exhibition began to take shape as a floating view of the dreamer.

As time went by I turned to Freud and Jung to get a better understanding of the psychology of dreams. During my research I have discovered many interesting aspects of consciousness involved in making dreams and that they play an important role in our lives.

 The idea for the Innocence to Sin paintings came during the time of research when I was looking at poses people take during sleep and how the pose can affect an actual dream. Some of the paintings take place on the bed, surrounded by elements of nature. They are a point of departure for my journey into the dream world. Some include the presence of animals, mostly cats, representing the guardian as well as a hint on the latent animality of humans.’

 Natasha Ber has been a shortlisted in many prizes across Australia including the Paul Guest Prize for Drawing 2018; Salon des Refuses 2018 (of the Archibald Prize); Black Swan Prize for Portraiture 2017; Forty Five Downstairs Emerging Artist Award 2017 and the Maritime Art Award 2013.