Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine
In 2011, we went behind the scenes of Tim Burton's expansive retrospective at LACMA, where he described an exhibition as a place of "excitement, mystery, discovery, life, and death." His career is the inspiration behind "Nightmare in Wonderland", an ongoing show series entering into its second phase on April 11th at Distinction Gallery. A play on The Nightmare Before Christmas, the exhibition title refers to just the tip of the iceberg. The artists, which include newcomer Atsuko Goto (covered here), Yoko d'Holbachie (featured in Vol. 6 in 2007), Natalie Shau, Dan May, Kukula, Lola, Calvin Ma, Naoto Hattori, Scott Radke, and many more, have chosen to portray a large variety of Burton subjects.
As an artist, Natalie Shau wears multiple hats, so to speak, and this shows in her process. Aside from her personal projects, she has worked in fashion photography and designed artwork for theater productions, the music industry and advertising. Her personal work is similarly interdisciplinary: She makes props and set designs, stages photo shoots and then puts her photos under the (digital) knife, transforming her models from realistic women to warped, surreal vixens. Shau's latest body of work will debut at Last Rites Gallery in New York City on May 31. Her first solo show with the gallery, "Forgotten Heroines" brings mythological influences into Shau's vignettes of solitary, tragic protagonists. There is as much Shakespeare in these pieces as there is Marilyn Manson. "Forgotten Heroines" will be on view May 31 through July 5, but before the show opens you can get a first look after the jump.