Janet Nathan (b. 1938)

Andrew Lambirth comments 'Nathan uses the manmade to make a point about the natural and elemental: she is fascinated by the interaction of man and water, and has long sought out the evidence - the precipitation - of their involvement. One of the most dramatic and calamitous examples of man in competition (if not dispute) with nature is the shipwreck. The beaches of the world are strewn with the detritus of unfavourable encounters between water and vessel, each item a poignant reminder of man's endeavour to compel and conquer, though sometimes the intention is less aggressive and simply a wish to co-exist. Nathan's reliefs are like bulletins from this shoreline battleground of sea and land, curiously beautiful and compelling in their sinuous compactness' (see Exhibition catalogue, Janet Nathan, London, Redern Gallery, 2008, p. 5).