As an ethnologist, I am drawn to the cultural characteristics that have emerged across the world—expressions shaped by geography, history, and the human desire for meaning. The striking differences between eras and cultures fascinate me just as much as their recurring patterns. As an artist, I see myself as a researcher: I search for social constructs that resonate with my own experiences, and from them I develop images that allow my emotions to take form.
One recurring figure in my work is the trickster—a character I explored deeply during my studies and one that appears in the mythologies of most cultures. Moving fluidly between incompatible worlds, the trickster belongs to none of them and thereby creates unexpected connections. For me, this figure becomes a symbol of the contradictions to which we, as humans, are continually exposed.
Painting—especially oil painting—remains at the center of my practice, even when I extend it through embroidery, carving, or textiles. Oil connects me to earlier artistic traditions and offers a depth and complexity of expression that continues to challenge and inspire me. I think of painting as a window, a threshold, or even an object of devotion within a space. The surrounding space itself is an extension of the work, because the atmosphere that envelops a piece is essential to the way I want it to be experienced.
CV:
2025: Teacher for oil painting, Volkshochschule Zürich
2021: Co-Kuration BA Fine Art Degree show ZHDK, Zürich Manegg
2021: Summerschool ZHDK, Social Art
2021: Residency Fondazione Bick, Ticino
2020: Organisation, curation and participation exhibition PAPERWORK, Zürich Manegg
from 2008: fine art professional and curator of different projects
2006: MA Short film about three artist groups in the context of the Biennale of Contemporary Art in Dakar, Senegal
2004: 3-month field research in Dakar, Senegal
1997–2006: Study of Ethnology, Media Science and Arabic at the Universität Zürich / Goethe Institut Damaskus / Universität Wien
Specialisations: Visual anthropology, art anthropology, traditional and contemporary art in Africa, mythologies in different cultures, alchemy in Arabic texts
1990–1995: Liceo Artistico Zürich
Born 1974 in Baden AG, lives and works in Zurich
Collections:
2024: Takeda Pharmaceuticals International AG
Private Collectors: Tersar-Sturzenegger, Rinderknecht-Pradal, Sanfilippo-Kläui, Daniela Hediger
Stipendien:
2021: Coronastipendium from the City of Zürich
Foto: Johann Bigler, 2025
Contact
mail@nathaliediserens.ch
+41 79 757 56 34
Studio
Bernerstrasse Nord 180
8064 Zürich
Schweiz