Lydia Idel is a multidisciplinary artist who works as a painter, sculptor, and photographer. Her work reveals perplexing worlds that appear both familiar and alien. She pulls the viewer into realms that follow unknown rules, evoking a spirit of ‘what if?’ and ‘just how sure are we that we know what we think we know?’

For the last decade, Idel has worked to improve her ability to hear and collaborate with beings in the other-than-human world. She does her best to co-create with unseen contributors such as spores, eukaryotes, and rocks. Serendipity and synchronicities abound in her studio, where it is clear to her that she is being led to and through creative arcs and methods. The work that emerges always surprises her and, at times, seems to generate itself.

In her practice, Idel reconsiders what creativity and authorship mean, pushing herself to envision beyond perceived reality. She imposes strict material constraints to drive creativity. She creates her sculptures and paintings with analog materials and documents the work with unaltered digital photography.

Photo by Laura Dawe