Biography
Naomi Sermet is a Franco-Macanese artist living and working in the Parisian region. She channels a personal history of trauma, isolation, and resilience into her art. Her early years were shadowed by the turmoil of her parents’ abusive relationship, a presence that lingered long after they separated when she was thirteen. Living in a spacious apartment alone with her three sisters, the stillness among them grew heavier than the echoes of arguments that had once filled their home. For Sermet, silence was as loud as her mother’s accusations, and the oppressive weight of unresolved trauma and isolation became inextricable from her inner world. Childhood was, for her, a battleground, one from which she emerged with scars. In that oppressive quiet, Naomi’s desire for escape—often to the brink of self-destruction—grew profoundly rooted.
Artist residencies at Kakslauttanen Art Gallery in Finland (2022) and Akureyri Art Museum in Iceland (2023) became pivotal for Sermet, as the remote and untouched Nordic terrains provided not only physical distance from people but also an emotional reprieve from the intensity of her past. Surrounded by expansive nature, she discovered both a new form of home and a renewed sense of belonging, aligning her sensibilities with the endurance of nature’s creatures—those that evade visibility, camouflaging themselves as a means of protection.
Artist Statement
In her art, Sermet invites viewers into fragile, introspective spaces where she reconstructs her memories to examine the thin boundary between survival and solitude. Through an intensely personal lens, she builds a refuge in each piece, reclaiming agency over memories that once felt beyond her control. These natural scenes inspire her work, translating into pieces that resonate with the tender, unspoken alliance between vulnerability and resilience.
A strong advocate for nature’s sanctity, Sermet’s aversion to zoos and aquariums reflects her affinity for the freedom and autonomy found in the wilderness. She found herself drawn to animals in the wild whose survival relies on blending into the background, mirroring her own search for invisibility and safety as a child. The fragile beauty of uncontained nature parallels her artistic sensibility—a canvas of delicacy where powerful survival instincts lie hidden. Sermet’s art, suffused with natural textures and muted, protective palettes, conveys intimacy, celebrating the refuge nature offers to those who seek shelter and strength beyond words.
In Sermet’s art, past trauma is not simply an echo but a medium and a vital element in her exploration of inner survival. She creates a visual language that invites audiences to commune with nature’s quiet strength, experiencing slow and imperceptible shifts while finding solace in the intricate balance of vulnerability and endurance. Her work etches a testament to survival, where strength, like nature, often lies hidden in plain sight.
