Nathalie BAETENS focuses on subtle traces in nature and human environments. Working primarily with black‑and‑white imagery, she explores micro‑habitats, birdlife, and overlooked landscapes, investigating how presence and absence shape perception. Her photographs often combine archival and field‑based approaches, drawing out quiet connections between the natural world and human experience. Through her lens, the ordinary becomes a means to reflect on memory, place, and the unseen.
After seeing a weaverbird’s nest in Mauritius, Nathalie BAETENS began collecting and photographing nests—first those loaned by friends and acquaintances, then historical examples from the collection of Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris. She used natural light and soft white backdrops, choosing to work without a tripod or view camera to preserve a sense of immediacy. Inspired by Karl Blossfeldt’s photographs of plants, she approaches these fragile structures as both works of art and feats of animal architecture.
