Artist Statement
If we truly saw the natural world as an extension of ourselves, would we fight harder to save it? This question sits at the heart of my practice. I explore the often-perceived divide between humans and nature, drawing from anthropology, folklore, and science to understand how we shape—and are shaped by—the more-than-human world.
Language, stories, and aesthetics play a huge role in how we relate to nature. Indigenous knowledge and folklore offer invaluable ways of understanding ecosystems—perspectives that are often overlooked in favour of modern science. But emotional connection is just as important as logic in our fight to protect the natural world.
Drawing is central to my process, both as a final artwork and as a research tool. Working from specimens and drawing outside allows me to truly see and understand the intricate structures of bryophytes, lichens, fungi, and wood—fragments of a vast, interconnected world. Each drawing is an exploration, a conversation with these species, learning about their biological significance and their quiet, otherworldly beauty.
Lately, I’ve been experimenting with new surfaces and materials—combining panels, gesso, oil paint, charcoal, and pencil to push the effects I want to achieve. Though the natural world is rich in colour, my monochrome drawings strip away distraction, focusing instead on structure, layers, and the deep entanglement of life forms. The result is work that is both scientifically precise and slightly surreal—a space where human experience and the more-than-human world merge.
Artist Bio
Based between Edinburgh and Dundee, Inês is a Fine-Artist and painter with a background in Surgery, Science, Botany and Social-Anthropology.
She graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2016 with a degree in Painting, and from the University of Edinburgh in 2018 with a Masters degree in Social Anthropology.
Inês works both independently and with organisations on a project-basis. She had a residency with the Surgeon’s Hall Museum in Edinburgh from 2020-2022 where she worked on the ‘Body Voyager’ project which explored the Human, Patient, Robot relationship in robotic surgery (her work can be found on the top floor of the Surgeon’s Hall Museum), the Mater Misercordiae Hospital in Dublin shadowing pioneering surgeries teaching an Ai how to detect cancer through fluorescence, culminating in ‘Beyond the Surface’, and recently worked with the Dundee Botanic Gardens in the creation of an educational ‘Bryophytes and Lichens’ art trail.
Inês is a member of the British Bryological Society and Society of Botanical Artists, founder of the Nature Collective, and currently artist in residence and co-curator at the Dundee Botanic Gardens.
Inês is a research-based artist and an active collaborator.
