The time of cities and the time of nature. Regarding art dealing with the disconnection between urban life and the natural world

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Art - Miscellaneous, grade: 83%, , course: BA (Hons) Fine Arts, language: English, abstract: This thesis aims to understand the underlying motivations and contexts of artists who question the disconnection between urban life and nature especially with respect to aspects of time. The methodology used is largely about the analysis of artwork. The strategies adopted by the artists discussed here vary from critiquing the ambitions of city builders in their pursuit of controlling time to shunning urban time altogether and reaching for the rhythms of nature. In order to ground this understanding of artwork in the contemporary context the thesis explores how contemporary urban life changes our experience of time and how this separates us from the natural world. Theories regarding the relationship of the human, the natural world and the passage of time are covered in order to contextualize this analysis. These include the study of entropy by Robert Smithson, Martin Heidegger's theory of the 'earth and the world' and Georges Bataille's ideas about the human impulse to annul the passage of time. The eastern philosophy of Zen and the aesthetics of Wabi Sabi that in many ways corroborate the ideas proposed by western thinkers have also been considered. It was concluded that the connection with the natural world is governed by the experience of time and its relationship to the human ego. The time of the cities is so controlled by the demands of the human ego that it is increasingly difficult for urban dwellers to connect with the time of nature that is beyond our control. It is only by immersing ourselves in the time of nature that we can distance ourselves from aspects of our ego (like desires, concerns, ambitions) and return to a state of connection.

Nandita Mukand is a Singapore-based artist whose practice deals with the relationship with Nature and spirituality from within the contemporary urban context. Materiality becomes a tool for investigating the natural world and questioning the impact urban life has on our experience of time and the meaning we give to our own existence. In 2008, Nandita quit her corporate career of eight years with MNCs like Proctor and Gamble to devote herself fulltime to art making. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (First Class Honours) from the LASALLE College of the Arts in partnership with Goldsmiths, College of London in 2014. Upon graduation she was awarded the most outstanding student in her class. In the same year she was invited by the Bilpin International Ground for Creative Initiatives (BigCi), Australia to develop her research and practice through their residency program. In 2015 she held her debut solo exhibition curated by the celebrated artist Kumari Nahappan. Recently she was invited by the Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Australia to be their first international artist-in-residence and to develop site specific work for their exhibition "Exploring BigCi". Nandita is an alumna of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and has a degree in Electronics Engineering from Lucknow University.