Love, in Built, Not Inherited, is not something you simply receive. It’s something you build.
That idea sits at the centre of Natalie King’s latest exhibition, now on view at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery —a body of work shaped by reflection, responsibility, and the ongoing labour of connection.
“Built, Not Inherited is an exhibition about love as a form of labour—something that has to be actively made, sustained, and chosen,” King says. “It looks at how relationships, identities, and communities are not simply given to us, but are shaped through how we show up over time.”
It’s a perspective that marks a shift—from inheritance to intention.
“We often think of legacy as something we inherit through family or culture,” she says. “But in reality, it’s something we build through our actions and relationships.”
That understanding didn’t arrive all at once but instead grew out of a gradual period of personal reflection.
“It was less about a single moment and more about realizing that love and connection require ongoing effort,” she says. “It’s something that has to be maintained.”
For King, art has long been a way of working through ideas that resist easy language.
“I was always drawn to image-making as a way to process things I didn’t yet have words for,” she says. “Drawing and painting helped me understand my environment, my identity, and my emotions.”
Over time, that instinct became more intentional, particularly as she began to think critically about her experiences as a queer Anishinaabe artist and how, at times, those realities were absent from the spaces around her.
“Art became a way to both understand and assert that reality,” she says.
Today, King describes her practice as interdisciplinary, working across painting, installation, and community-engaged work. It’s rooted not only in image-making, but also in connection.
“I’m thinking about how the work functions relationally—how it connects people, holds space, and reflects lived experience,” she says. “It feels like a moment of clarity and expansion.”
That relational approach grew through her work facilitating workshops and collaborative projects, experiences that shifted her understanding of the artist’s role.
“I realized art wasn’t just something I made alone in the studio,” she says. “It could also create space for connection, storytelling, and collective reflection.”
Those ideas continue in Built, Not Inherited, where figures appear in moments of closeness, protection, and tension—reflecting both personal relationships and broader systems.
“I’m interested in how inherited structures—cultural, familial, societal—intersect with choice and agency,” King says. “The work doesn’t resolve that tension, but it holds space for it.”
In her art, King moves between personal and collective experience.
“It’s grounded in my own life, but also shaped by broader realities—particularly within queer and Anishinaabe communities,” she says. “I’m interested in how those personal narratives connect to shared experiences.”
That balance is also present in her process. Rather than working from a fixed plan, King begins with a feeling or question, allowing each piece to develop over time.
“I build compositions through layering, colour, and gesture,” she says. “The work evolves as I respond to what’s happening on the surface.”
Even in those quieter, solitary moments, the work remains shaped by relationships.
“Conversation, shared experiences, and community all inform what I’m making,” she says. “Even when the process is individual, it’s still relational.”
In the gallery, that sense of connection becomes part of the experience itself.
“I think about the exhibition as a space of encounter,” she says. “Through scale, composition, and installation, I’m trying to create moments where viewers feel connected to the work—and to each other.”
For those moving through the exhibition, the invitation is subtle but deliberate.
“I hope people feel a sense of recognition,” King says. “That they reflect on their own relationships, their responsibilities, and how they show up in the world.”
In many cases, that connection happens in ways she doesn’t anticipate.
“I’m often struck by how people see themselves in the work,” she says. “When someone shares their own story in response, that stays with me. Or when young women come up and say they appreciate the work—that feels really meaningful.”
Presenting the exhibition in Thunder Bay carries its own significance.
“It feels like an important moment in my practice,” King says. “And in such a beautiful Indigenous city, it’s meaningful to share the work here, in dialogue with the community.”Built, Not Inherited continues at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, inviting visitors to reflect on the central idea: meaningful connection is not inherited but intentionally built through ongoing choices. For hours, exhibition details, and upcoming programming, visit the Gallery online.
