Nataša Segulin: QUID ULTRA?

Najnovejša serija fotografij QUID ULTRA? (Kaj je onkraj?) umetnice Nataše Segulin že v samem naslovu aludira na nekaj magičnega, mističnega. Avtorica je projekt ustvarjala pet let, pri čemer je v ospredje postavila preizpraševanje duha časa ter raziskovanje svetlih in temnih plati življenja, našega obstoja in zgodovine. Aktualna dela so nastala v njenem značilnem minimalističnem slogu, ki ga zaznamujejo izčiščene kompozicije in prefinjen občutek za likovni jezik izbranih podob.

Nataša Segulin kot izhodišče serije uporablja arhitekturo, prostorske detajle in naravo, ki jih transformira in predstavi kot skrivnostne ter nedoumljive podobe. Na videz abstraktne fotografije v resnični čas in prostor umeščajo naslovi in letnice nastanka del, ki razkrivajo mnogotere lokacije širom sveta, kjer so bila dela ustvarjena. Ob gledanju fotografij iz serije QUID ULTRA? smo kot gledalci vpeti v nihanje med resničnostjo in abstraktnostjo, naš pogled onkraj likovne podobe k notranjemu bistvu fotografije pa usmerjajo svetlobni ali prostorski detajli. Umetnica pri svojem izrazu simbolno uporablja temne tone kot prispodobo za tišino in tudi za nezavedno, svetloba pa je postavljena v vlogo upanja. Skozi avtoričin objektiv in intuitivni ustvarjalni proces smo priča njenemu notranjemu dialogu med videnjem in čutenjem onkraj naših individualnih in univerzalnih pričakovanj in iluzij. Hkrati pa nas njene fotografije vabijo h globljemu uvidu in odkrivanju tega, kar se skriva onkraj nekega pročelja za zaveso vidnega in nevidnega.

Nataša Segulin se je rodila v Kopru, Slovenija, diplomirala je leta 1973 na Filozofski fakulteti v Ljubljani. Dolga leta je bila zaposlena kot novinarka, urednica in odgovorna urednica na TV Koper-Capodistria, TV Slovenija. S fotografijo se je spogledovala že med študijem umetnostne zgodovine, pozneje med dolgoletnim novinarskim delom na področju kulture, v celoti pa se ji je posvetila šele leta 2011. Od leta 2013 razstavlja na številnih samostojnih in skupinskih razstavah doma in v tujini (Dunaj, Zagreb, Budimpešta, Bratislava, Nürnberg, Benetke, Rim, Firence, Pariz, München…). Za ustvarjalnost na področju fotografije je prejela mednarodna priznanja in nagrade. Leta 2019 je izšla njena prva foto knjiga Lumen (Založba Galerija Fotografija). Je članica Zveze društev slovenskih likovnih umetnikov (ZDSLU).

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The latest photo series by Nataša Segulin, QUID ULTRA? (What Is Beyond?), already alludes to something magical in its title. In a project developed over a period of five years, the artist questions the spirit of the times, together with the light and dark sides of life and, in a broader sense, our existence and history. The current works were created in the artist’s characteristic minimalist style of clean compositions and with a keen sense of the visual language of the selected images. Nataša Segulin takes architecture, spatial details, and nature as a starting point for the series, but frames them and presents them transformed into mysterious and indecipherable images.

The seemingly highly abstract photographs are placed in real time and space by the titles and years of origin of the works, which reveal the various places in the world where they were created. Looking at the photographs in the QUID ULTRA? series, we as viewers are thus involved in a constant oscillation between the real and the abstract, our gaze being drawn beyond the visual image to the inner essence of the photograph through the details of light or space. The artist’s expression symbolically uses dark tones as a metaphor for silence and also for the unconscious, while light takes on the role of hope. Through the artist’s lens and intuitive creative process, we witness her inner dialogue between seeing and feeling, beyond our individual and universal expectations and illusions. At the same time, her photographs invite us to see deeper and discover what lies beyond a façade, behind the curtain of the visible and the invisible.

Nataša Segulin was born in Koper, Slovenia, and graduated from the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana in 1973. For most of her professional career, she worked as a journalist, editor, and chief editor at TV Koper-Capodistria (TV Slovenia). While studying art history and working as an art and culture journalist, she became interested in photography. However, it was not until 2011 that she was able to pursue it. Since 2013, she has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Slovenia and abroad (Vienna, Zagreb, Budapest, Bratislava, Nuremberg, Venice, Rome, Florence, Paris, and Munich). For her creative work in photography, she has received international recognition and awards. In 2019, her first photo book, Lumen (published by Galerija Fotografija), was released. She is a member of the Association of Fine Artists of Slovenia (ZDSLU).