April 14 – July 6, 2012
Reception: April 14, 2012, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
The recipient of the 2010-11 Joshua Tree National Park Artist-in-Residency award, Naida Osline conjures the natural, the surreal, and the shamanistic through her ethereal digital photographs. The consideration of her chosen subject matter conveys an inclination towards a scientific approach to the mystic. Using manipulation processes that range from subtle alterations to the disorienting and dreamlike (yet simultaneously hyper-real), her images exist and expand outward in a meditative space that considers: biological processes and documentation, anthropological phenomena such as ‘myth’ and ‘ritual,’ and the confounding of the ‘natural’ and the ‘synthetic’ or human-modified. Presented as three distinct, yet mutually informative bodies of work diverse in scale, subject matter, and process, each series commands its own investment of thought. As otherworldly visions steeped in the ancient and esoteric relationship of man and nature, her images capture brief instances of candor through a primordial lens.
The Riverside Art Museum presents three series of Osline’s oeuvre: the Men Portfolio, Photosynthetic, and Shrub Portraits; the latter two of which were completed during her Joshua Tree National Park residency from 2010-11 and her Petrified Forest National Park residency in 2011. Osline is a Riverside-based artist; she recently completed an artist residency through California State University, Fullerton at the Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana. She received her B.A. from Cal State Fullerton, has held solo exhibitions throughout Southern California, and has shown in group exhibitions internationally.
Osline’ Artist’s Statement:
“The themes of my photo-based work have focused on an exploration of the body and nature as a site of transformation. My work reflects my interest in reflecting life in a constant state of flux, with organisms being affected by natural selection, biological processes, scientific intervention, and consumer desire.”