The Japanese segment of the “Minerals” (www.nataleadgnot.com/japanese-minerals) series is an offshoot of the earlier American Minerals work.

“Minerals” are a mash-up of pop culture, sociology, scientific data and the raw beauty of stones. These large acrylic paintings show crystal shapes against the backdrop of scientific mineral data that has been reinterpreted as scales of human traits. Each mineral property (hard, dense, lustrous, etc.) is represented by a famous face plucked from the spectrum of contemporary Japanese cultural references. The faces used in these works come from extensive cultural research and polling undertaken while in residence at Tokyo Wonder Site in 2015.

The "Minerals" series was originally developed using faces that are famous in America, proving that – regardless of culture – a cliché, a stereotype or a façade always hides something more complex.