Second Nature advances Ethan Platt’s exploration of contemporary figuration through a new series of work that confronts notions of the ‘natural’ within urban and digital contexts. These paintings reference floral systems through colour, composition and mood to compose the synthetic figure in a flux state. In this state, digital aesthetics echo botanical life, and the artificial is framed by the natural. Through this dialogue, Second Nature asks what is fabricated, what is organic and what becomes our second nature. Drawing on personal experiences,

Platt’s paintings create mementos, vessels, and love letters to the natural world, relationships, and the rhythms of contemporary life. These encounters are conveyed through referencing iconic paintings such as Le Déjeuner Sur L'herbe (Édouard Manet, 1862-63), sculptures such as Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1647-52), artistic tropes such as ‘Musca Depicta’, floriography, and contemporary interpretations of the vanitas genre. This highlights a narrative based in ‘natural order’, spirituality, and mortality, to contemplate contemporary human experiences.