Through my work I recreate and reinvent myself, I fulfil desires, project anxieties, fears and beliefs; I enjoy a freedom to be aware of my inner voice, to follow my intuition andto give rein to my curiosity. Myfantasies and dreams create a tangible world of mysterious inhabitants to show the unseen; to talk of the untold and to express thoughts and ideas, which I would not dare to voice in any other way. I tell without fully revealing my secrets and wink at those whom I share them with.

These last few weeks of the residency coincide with Barbican Art’s Group Trust’s Blackhorse Lane Open Studios and provide a fascinating opportunity to see Natuka at work in the project space - her studio. Open studios often present artist’s work in a finished state but this most challenging of artists has preferred to keep working throughout the open studios offering the public a more realistic and revealing insight into an artist's working practice.

In addition to engaging professional practice and development the Drawing Studio Residency has fostered cohesive links with local groups in the promotion of creative expression as a leisure and learning pursuit. Studio 15 hosts an exhibition of a selection of work made with Natuka by members of Leyton Joint Community Day Services, and the African Caribbean Women’s Development Centre. Natuka will introduce the exhibition with a short talk on Thursday 2nd September at 2pm.