Ghost in the Machine explores how meaning is constructed, inherited, and adapted in service of a new mythos. Titled in reference to Arthur Koestler’s concept of the fragmented mind, the work reflects on the tension between self and system, and the imperfectly evolved impulse to reconcile the two. The nine paintings in this exhibition depict figures emerging from primordial folkloric memory and personal history, forming a speculative mythology. Grounded in the elemental, cyclical sensibility of nature-based belief systems, the works consider how experiences of transcendent beauty in nature can provide a sense of connection and continuity. This exhibition reflects an uncanny, preternatural space for navigating the harmony and discordance within identity and our need for belonging; it is a place to consider a past and future of our own in the shadow of the one written on our behalf.

About the artist: Nataliya Hines is a Connecticut-based painter, printmaker, and digital artist whose work merges mythology with questions surrounding technology, authorship, and belief. Drawing from art history, folklore, portraiture, and religious iconography, she constructs speculative narratives exploring the emotional and philosophical implications of machine learning. Her paintings position symbolic femininity and nature-based mythologies against an algorithm-driven cultural landscape. Hines studied printmaking and art history at SUNY Purchase and the Institut d’Études Supérieures des Arts, respectively. She has exhibited in New York City, Germany, and the Netherlands. Ghost in the Machine is her sixth solo exhibition.