“Intertwined” (2020), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches. All images © Shyama Golden, shared with permission
On the banks of the Martha Brae River in Jamaica, artist noticed greenery that appeared like lovers embracing. She “started to see these anthropomorphic vine-covered trees everywhere, taking on the forms of various archetypes.” The scenes inspired a series of paintings titled With or Without Us that merges facets of landscape and portrait painting into verdant works expressing nature as a social entity.
The Los Angeles-based artist’s practice is influenced by myriad sources, especially literature and everyday experiences. “Sometimes the idea can come from reading, and sometimes I take inspiration directly from life, but I often do research to add more details as I go, even if the original idea didn’t come from anything I read,” she tells Colossal. With or Without Us takes cues from Richard Powers’ 2019 novel , an evocation of the natural world comprised of interlocking narratives in which each character is deeply connected to trees.
For this series, Golden was fascinated by the invisible means in which trees with each other using a network of soil fungi, an ecological survival mechanism that is under threat from deforestation and impacts of the climate crisis. By combining recognizable portrait imagery redolent of family photographs, headshots, or the art historical vogue for reclining female figures, Golden reimagines the leafy denizens of forests as individuals with distinctive personalities and relationships.
Find more of Golden’s work on her and .
“Familiar Phantasm” (2021), oil on canvas, 60 x 60 inches
Detail of “Familiar Phantasm”
“The Hero” (2021), oil on panel, 48 x 48 inches
“The Muse” (2021), oil on canvas, 60 x 40 inches
“Blue” (2021), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
Detail of “Intertwined”
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