Thank you for visiting my website.
My name is Nat Moynagh (she/her) and this is a not so short description of myself, who I am, what I do, where I live and how I've come to be here.
As a little disclaimer, I try to see myself, all humans, animals and everything that exists through an anti-capitalist lens. We are not merely the work we do that we get paid for (to me). Who we are I believe transcends time and space, dehumanizing systems and even our own limited understandings of ourselves and each other. To me, we are ever changing and evolving, fluid & non static beings whose identities extend far beyond whatever social milieu we find ourselves entangled in.
That being said, I know the histories/herstories we come from matter, so here is my current understanding of mine that may be relevant to share. I am of Irish, Acadian, British and Scandinavian settler descent. My Irish ancestors I know were from the county or Armagh, where they once upon a time collected peat moss for fires as a trade. This is the meaning that the name Moynagh holds (aka dweller of the Bog). As far as I know they left because of a potato famine though I also hear perhaps this is code for some kind of attempted erasure. I (we) now live on stolen land which is the traditional home of the Chonnonton (Attawandaron or Neutral ~ people of the deer), Anishinaabe (Mississauga ~ people who live upon the Earth in the right way) and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois confederacy/alliance ~ people who build a house) also known as "Kitchener, Ontario". Although I am originally from "Moncton New Brunswick", the traditional unceded territory of the Wolastoqiyik~Maliseet - people of the beautiful River (So beautiful- my favourite!) and Mi'kmaq ~my kin/friends people.
I seek to more deeply understand these relations, my place within this context, my roots and how I am complicit in my impact as a descendant of colonizers, to honour both the people who rightfully belong here as caretakers of this land and to become a better steward of the Earth myself in real and tangible ways beyond this mere land acknowledgment. In my blood I know there is the misuse of power and there is also a history of resisting the misuse of power, refusing to take the British Oath and experiencing exile because of it.
I believe in my heart that I owe my existence and the continuation of my people to indigenous folks and also to the turnips which one of my ancestors stole from other peoples gardens to survive after his escape from jail during the Acadian expulsion.
As far as being an artist goes, I am a self-taught artist who values art more for its therapeutic benefit than for its technical merit. This stems from the fact that I grew up with a mother who was/is an artist (Moon in Pisces) who instilled a love of art making in me. I drew initially to receive her love and attention but then that grew into a medium through which to heal and express myself independent of her noticing, a tool I cherish and will continue to carry with me through life(times).
The creative process has always been a reliable anchor to me and a medium through which I steadily gain access to my own embodied experience/spiritual nature and flow states.
These days I work mainly with acrylic paint and black ink though I dabble in other mediums as well.
Nature, spirit, dream-work and the full spectrum of human emotions are key themes that run through my work.
These themes run through my work because they run through me and my life in a multitude of ways.
I have shown my work at Variety Café, the East Village Arts Collective (EVAC), the Root Cellar, Café Aquarius, Ecstatic Dance KW and have also worked in collaboration with Safe Space, LOLA bees, and the London Food Co-op on various art projects.
Contact info
Etsy page: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/NatMoynaghArt
E-mail: natmoynagh@gmail.com
Facebook: @natmoynaghart
Instagram: natmoynagh