Natalie Raavel
Natalie Raavel is the artistic name of Prague-based visual artist Natalia Yakunina.
Her work explores memory, identity and cultural heritage through portraiture, narrative photography and material culture. Rather than documenting reality, she creates images that exist outside a specific time, inviting the viewer to reflect on childhood, fragility, family history and what remains after us.
Alongside her artistic practice, she founded a Prague-based atelier specializing in costume making for film, performance and visual productions. The dialogue between photography, costume, craftsmanship and material heritage has become an essential part of her artistic language, leading to long-term research into memory preservation through contemporary design.
Her background combines applied mathematics, entrepreneurship and research on memory and cultural heritage. These disciplines shape the conceptual framework behind her visual practice, where each body of work becomes part of a broader investigation into how personal memory transforms into cultural heritage.
Her photographs have been exhibited internationally, including exhibitions in Venice, London, New York and Barcelona.
She lives and works in Prague.