Painting the world on leather
- Neale and Natalie's leatherwork involves marquetry, moulding, embossing and hand painting
- Their work emphasises the beauty of natural materials
- The duo is inspired by their travels, art history, nature and abstract paintings
Natalie Thakur and Neale Marriott create leather artworks in combination with mixed materials and different techniques. The duo became friends through an artist studio complex in Hackney Wick, and their collaboration only deepened with time. "I remember damming a small stream near my childhood home. It was an early realisation of how we interact with material in the natural world. This still inspires my work today," Neale says. Meanwhile, Natalie had an awareness for handmade items early on. "My great grandparents created piano cases and furniture for ship interiors during the 1900s. I was also surrounded by handcrafted pieces collected by my father," she says. Today, in their workshop Marrikur Studios, the duo joins forces in creating pieces born from Natalie's intricate leatherworking techniques and Neale's longstanding experience in painting on different mediums.
INTERVIEW
Neale: I focus on hand painting, and Natalie focuses on leather crafting. Our ideas develop from shared experiences and observations. If one of us comes up with a design, the other will refine and add to it.
Natalie: We live in a world of materials. It is exciting to find interesting combinations. Leather’s tactility gives visual works a physical edge. We appreciate leather’s natural grain and strength, and we draw on its ancient heritage to modernise it.
Natalie: Making is deeply rooted in my family. I was fascinated by the handcrafted objects that my father collected from around the world. Neale: I enjoy interpreting my experience of the world. I investigate the processes and materials forming the world around me through my work.
Neale: It is not really an object, but I have a memory of damming a stream. Using natural materials to create new pools was magic. It probably says a lot about why I do what I do. Natalie: I created a pair of paper shoes! I used to make and fully decorated cardboard houses, always fascinated with details.
