Together with Olsen Gallery, Eva Nolan presents Entanglings, the first body of work to emerge from her ongoing PhD research at UNSW Art, Design & Architecture. Nolan’s drawings emanate from her love of the natural world and her fascination with natural history illustration. Her research critiques scientific drawing practices that position species as specimens – inert objects available for extraction and exploitation.

Entanglings explores novel approaches to drawing the natural world whereby an ethics of care and compassion is paramount. Nolan’s drawings are produced by referencing photographs of species sightings available on digital biodiversity databases. Each drawing entwines plants and animals that have been documented within a five-kilometer radius from various locations across Australia. The exhibition is a celebration of the intrinsic relationships between all living things whilst also being a quiet exploration of practices of care and kinship.

Eva Nolan is an emerging, Sydney-based artist who graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in research at the Art & Design college of the University of New South Wales in 2019. Her research investigates the contemporary relevance of biological taxonomies in our understanding of multispecies relationships, and explores the intersection of analogue and digital approaches to drawing.

Nolan's speculative ecosystems are created beneath a magnifying lens, entwining a plethora of diverse species teeming with life. Her practice challenges traditional scientific illustration, whereby organisms were excised from their natural habitats and preserved as inanimate objects of curiosity. Nolan’s drawings offer a contemporary reimagining of biological illustration – one that illuminates interspecies relationships and the innate connection between all living things.

Eva Nolan’s first solo exhibition featured the culmination of her MFA research at ADspace and EPICentre, UNSW Galleries, 2019. She has exhibited internationally at Arts Catalyst, London, and Xinying Cultural Centre, Tainan, Taiwan. In 2019 her work was featured in The Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award, The Tim Olsen Drawing Prize and Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize.

Nolan has received the Drawing Award at the North Sydney Art Prize 2019, The Tim Olsen Drawing Prize 2018 and the Kudos Emerging Artist and Designer Award 2018.