Until May 1, 2023, the ME Dubai Hotel is hosting The Lost Planet, a solo exhibition of Natalia Kapchuk, an artist and an environmentalist. The show is being held in partnership with Art|Kōrero, JP Art Advisory, and FprBuro Communication Agency. It features a collection of Kapchuk’s mixed-media artworks and digital and AR installations. The exhibition highlights her captivating designs and her use of different materials, exceptional techniques, and an eco-friendly approach.
Created in 2019, the Lost Planet series includes over 40 environmentally-centered works and continues to grow. Being inspired by the expanses of the Sahara desert or marine plastic pollution, for instance, each art piece focuses on nature’s beauty, either untouched or affected by ecological issues and human activity.
For Natalia Kapchuk, it is essential to implement eco-friendly applications to her physical artworks: creating them, she uses reclaimed wood, up-cycled plastics, and plant-based techniques and materials. It reflects the global need for safe alternative approaches to common but damaging practices to fight ecological decline. To contrast naturally resourced and industrial materials, in her art practice Kapchuk combines such materials as tree bark, sand, and moss with polymers, gilding, metal chips, etc. She also works with fiberglass construction, LED lighting, and digital and augmented designs.
Because of the current climate crisis, the message of environmental awareness and sustainability is needed now more than ever. It is in the centre of Natalia Kapchuk’s art. For her, making art is not just a simple means of expression — it is an opportunity to make a difference. “Of the many things I hold dear, the arts and Mother Earth take up a large portion,” she says. “When I think of our home here on this planet, I worry about the irreversible damage humanity has caused […]. To bring light to such […] issues and to spread awareness of the growing concerns facing our planet, I use […] my art to illuminate the […] environmental crises while encouraging self-accountability and collective actions […].”
About the artist
Natalia Kapchuk (b. 1984, Yekaterinburg, the USSR) is a contemporary artist based in London, UK, and Dubai, UAE. She is an ambassador at both The Parliamentary Society of Arts, Fashion and Sports (UK) and the Better World Fund (BWF). She is also a philanthropist who supports charities and organizations dedicated to protecting the world.
Kapchuk graduated from Ural State University, Russia, with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations. In 2017, the artist studied art at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Later, she studied at The Chelsea College of Arts in London, UK.
Her artworks have been featured in numerous group exhibitions like: Anima Mundi International Art Festival, Venice (2019); London Contemporary, The Line Gallery, London (2019); Emerging Scene Art Prize, Dubai and Abu Dhabi (2021); and others.
About the location
Located close to Burj Khalifa and Dubai World Trade Centre, ME Dubai Hotel by Meliá is the only one in the world designed by internationally famous architect Zaha Hadid. She designed both its architectural structure and interior. This 5-star luxury hotel is “an ambitious commitment to […] art and culture” hosting curated exhibitions. As for sustainability, among such features can be mentioned shutting down one wing of the hotel and keeping its lights off when it’s a lower-occupancy season.
To learn more about the Lost Planet exhibition, please visit ArtKōrero’s website.
