Naomi Hart

Naomi Hart is a visual artist whose work is strongly influenced and inspired by the natural world, in particular the sea. She tells us about her globetrotting career and her love of science…

What do you do?

I'm based in Exeter but I love exploring different places: I've been artist in residence with geographers in the Arctic and with marine biologists in the Galapagos Islands, but my latest project has been researching the River Exe – I like to work anywhere there's wildlife and nature.

I have lived and worked in many different countries and now try to combine my love of travel and exploration with my art. I often collaborate with scientists and researchers, including looking at issues around forests, climate change, ocean plastic pollution and migration. I have exhibited and produced site-specific work in the UK and abroad, have produced large-scale commissions for the public and private sectors and have work in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Scotland.

I love to use science in my art; I don't see a divide, I just see different ways of trying to understand the world. My first love is drawing, but every so often I feel like making something really big. I try to make work that anybody can appreciate, but that may have a message in it if people want to look more closely.

'We go out into a great blank space', 60cm x 60cm, mixed media on canvas, Naomi Hart 2018

How did you get started?

I've always drawn, since I was old enough to scribble on walls and use wax crayons on radiators (it drove my parents mad), but I did a degree in languages originally and then worked for a charity in Africa until I realised that I really wanted to be an artist, so came back to the UK to study. That was in Sunderland and I learned glass-blowing and sculpture, but I still go back and forth between 2D and 3D in my work.

What keeps you going when things get tough?

I love what I do: drawing is not just 'work', it's also how I relax and how I stay sane. I get really grumpy if I don't draw for a while! I'm also lucky that I love learning, so everything I see or read is inspiration. One of the hard things as a freelancer is never knowing where the next bit of money is going to come from, but I'm never short of ideas, and I have very supportive friends and family who keep me going when things get difficult.

Who do you work with and why?

I have worked with schools and communities and scientists in different projects and I hope that I have inspired them to try different things and see the world differently. Making art and viewing art changes the way you look at things and think about things.

Name one thing that would make your life easier as an artist or arts organiser.

It's not about the amount of money necessarily, but about security. The best project I worked on recently (a Leverhulme Grant) allowed me to stop worrying about that for 10 months and that gave me huge creative freedom – I think I made some of my best work in that time as I could just concentrate on the work. I'd also love a big, warm studio with running water and a nice view!

Talk us through a favourite project or piece.

One of my favourite projects was working with ice scientists in Svalbard and Sheffield University. It was a chance to read about science and the history of Svalbard, and an opportunity to be with researchers in the field in the Arctic and see how they do their experiments. I kept a sketchbook and took hundreds of photos. These then inspired paintings and other work, which I have showed in several exhibitions. I also gave talks about the residency, one of which was at the Royal Geographical Society in London to a mixed audience of scientists, artists and general public. It was lovely to be able to talk to lots of different people about how they viewed the art and how it changed their perceptions. I loved the whole process.

Naomi Hart, Foxfonna, Svalbard, Close up, Photo Arwyn Edwards

What does the next year look like for you?

The Trade & Exchange commission is linked with a project idea I've been exploring for the last year about a ship that was built in Topsham in 1813 and was used in polar exploration, conducting groundbreaking science in uncharted places. There's a lot of historical research to do, but I want to tell the story about the oceans she sailed in: what they were like 200 years ago, what they are like now, and how science and art have increased our understanding of the world.

What’s been the best moment for you or your group in the last year?

Speaking on the main stage at the Royal Geographical Society in London was absolutely amazing – so many incredible people have been part of the RGS, like Scott and Shackleton; it's steeped in history and filled with the excitement of travel.

In what ways are you helping to put Exeter on the cultural map, nationally or internationally?

Through my art I have been able to work with communities in the Arctic, in the Pacific, in Canada and in Europe. A project that I created about migration a few years ago had responses from people from every continent on Earth, including the Arctic and the Antarctic, so I feel that I am doing my bit for Exeter internationally. The project about the ship would link Exeter and Topsham directly with communities around the world, so I'm excited to see how that progresses and how it might inspire communities here to understand our place in the world and treasure our local environment as part of the global ecosystem.

What have you been doing during lockdown?

I was away from home during the first lockdown so it felt natural to keep a journal as if I were travelling. I also felt it would help me to have something creative to make myself do. From daily walks I collected flowers, leaves and bits of archaeology and took them home to study. This time around I've been lucky enough to have a couple of commissions – cultural organisations have been incredible at trying to support artists with small projects – so I've been able to work on them. I'm very pleased that my focus for the commissions was the River Exe, so it's meant being able to be out doing research while I exercise near to home, and I've learnt so much about the river and the canal. I've also been using different materials to make work, trying to make ink and paint from plants, which also makes me feel much more connected to a place.

Tell us about your approach to the Trade & Exchange commission.

One of the main reasons for applying was getting access to the Devon and Exeter Institution (DEI) collection, and I haven't been disappointed. I didn't know much about it, but I'd visited once during a Heritage Open Day, and hadn't realised before what a jewel of a place it is. It's so exciting to be able to open books that are 200 years old and feel so connected to the people that wrote them. When everything now is online, it feels even more important to handle physical objects and to remind ourselves where our knowledge today comes from. I'm hoping the work will help people understand more about the Exe Estuary and more about the DEI and the incredible history that it holds. It has encouraged me to learn more about women in science and to experiment more with my art. [Read more about the commission here]

What if ….?

It would be amazing to share my work more with galleries and communities around the world, so perhaps institutional level links would be interesting. I have exhibited and spoken about my work at Exeter University, RAMM and the Phoenix – if there were city links to galleries and universities, group exhibitions or exchanges, these could be a really exciting way to show work elsewhere but also have other artists show work on similar subjects here?

How do we find out more?

Visit the website: naomi-hart.com

Follow on Twitter: @theNaomiHart