Abstract

The term nostalgia, a pained longing for the past, originated in the late 1600s, but the feeling has been described in literature as early as 750 BCE. Nostalgia, described as a longing for the past, and apprehension of change, are intrinsic to human society. This feeling has been found to help in times of stress or anxiety; people fall back on their memories as a way to cope with change. Time is a constant inconsistency that is, simultaneously, the result of nostalgia and the cause of its need in society. This is in contrast to what can be observed in nature, where the only constant is change. Loss, adaptation, and behavioral plasticity are what nature thrives on to survive. Animals and nature have a distinct ability to cope with the cycle of time, while many humans struggle to adapt. This research hinges on creating a conversation between the dichotomy of reception to change in nature and human society through drawing. Overall, exploring nostalgia through art as a coping mechanism for the grief of time passing and memory. Drawing is a way to capture a moment in time and attempt to hold it still. The use of graphite as the primary medium in this series allows for the evocation of memories in a person’s mind, as it can be wiped away and distorted. Family photos, memories, and nostalgic items are drawn in tandem with the natural world. Through the drawing process, the artist is asked to sit with their own grief, working through it while creating the image. The viewer is shown this grief in its final form, with nature embedded into the memory. The resulting body of work depicts the artist’s grief and prompts viewers to sit with their own experiences of loss and how they cope with it.

Keywords

nostalgia, memories, birds, drawing, adaptations, change, graphite, grief, trees, roots, the passage of time

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