Nathan Beard
Born: 1987 Australia; lives and works in Perth, Western Australia
@nathansbeard nathanbeard.org
![]()
Siam Shimme, 2018, digital print on 310gsm canson rag photographique, printed acrylic, swarovski elements
92.9 x 72.8 x 4cm
Nathan Beard’s work drips with as much nostalgic mesmerism as it does heartache. Through video, performance, and “digital or physical manipulations of found family portraits”, he unearths the “cultural anxiety and struggle towards authenticity” with his status as a half Thai half Australian artist. He’s actually one of the reasons this archive even exists! I’ve never resonated with someone and their works so much! Many of his works loop back to his beautiful Thai mother and her culture, specifically Thai burial and death masks, traditional costuming, and full blown contemporary kitsch! By twisting his very real and almost existential questions on the merit of his identity, he embraces it all quite lavishly, fully aware of his dual-hereditary gaze. The reason his work resonates with me so much is because his mother seems to be the driving force behind his work too. Making me immediately think of an excerpt from Sara Cwynar’s “Red Film” (2018) where she posed:
- And don’t we all make everything just for one person? Just for one or two? - I make it for you”
![]()
![]()
@nathansbeard nathanbeard.org
Siam Shimme, 2018, digital print on 310gsm canson rag photographique, printed acrylic, swarovski elements
92.9 x 72.8 x 4cm
Nathan Beard’s work drips with as much nostalgic mesmerism as it does heartache. Through video, performance, and “digital or physical manipulations of found family portraits”, he unearths the “cultural anxiety and struggle towards authenticity” with his status as a half Thai half Australian artist. He’s actually one of the reasons this archive even exists! I’ve never resonated with someone and their works so much! Many of his works loop back to his beautiful Thai mother and her culture, specifically Thai burial and death masks, traditional costuming, and full blown contemporary kitsch! By twisting his very real and almost existential questions on the merit of his identity, he embraces it all quite lavishly, fully aware of his dual-hereditary gaze. The reason his work resonates with me so much is because his mother seems to be the driving force behind his work too. Making me immediately think of an excerpt from Sara Cwynar’s “Red Film” (2018) where she posed:
- And don’t we all make everything just for one person? Just for one or two? - I make it for you”
Siamese Smize [with Thai ceramic patter], 2018, digital print on 310gsm canson rag photographique, printed acrylic, swarovski elements
67.8 x 93.8 x 4cm
67.8 x 93.8 x 4cm
Figure 1. Siamese Smile, Thailand 1970-1975, 2017-18, digital print on canson baryta, printed acrylic, swarovski elements
36.5 x 49.5 x 4.5cm
36.5 x 49.5 x 4.5cm
The Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, 2012
A classic work of Nathan’s I think you should be aware of is “The Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” performance at the Next Wave Festival in Perth, Western Australia, he collaborated with Abdul Abdullah and Casey Ayres, artists who also have Asian moms and a white Australian dads. The unit of 3 used their longing to belong to a group of people as groundwork for a fake embassy concept. They turned this fictional third room-esque scenario into an opening that “encompassed every possible stereotype you can imagine in Asianess, and smashed it all into one place!” Using research and social experiments they conducted in Singapore and Thailand, they created a “rampant” super sonic multicultural daydream. They welcomed a genuine audience of people, sitting on gold thrones during traditional dance performances, and greeting their citizens.. framing Keanu Reeves gold leaf... I was stunned at the insanity, ubiquity, and realization they created for us all, similar to Nikki S Lee’s definition of identity that addresses it as an arrangement of activity that is formally tangible, yet critically complex! Nathan, you are truly are a ray of sunshine!