Big Eddy Swell

27 x 19 x 12 feet | watercolor, iridescent medium, paper tape on hand cut paper with painted walls, cast shadows
site-specific installation from "11 ½" | OVERTONES, Los Angeles, CA | curated by Susan Joyce

For his debut solo exhibition in Los Angeles, Chris Natrop gives new dimensions to drawing with large-scale cut paper abstract landscapes. Inspired by the scientific theory of the eleventh dimension or superstring theory, “11-1/2”, as the title of this site-specific installation indicates, goes a step beyond eleven. The superstring theory revolution began when physicists realized that the subatomic particles found in nature, such as electrons, might not be particles at all, but tiny vibrating strings.

Drawing by hand with a knife, spontaneously without lines, the contour drawings that Natrop creates are made from memory and his subconscious. The walls of the gallery are painted rich luscious colors, the images relate to nature and at the same time cross over into the supernatural. Natrop devises unexpected environments where perception is challenged; the gallery is transformed in a dramatic way creating spatial depth with silhouettes and cast shadows from suspended cutout drawings.  It takes the viewer to an ulterior space, to a place that provides an altered state experience.