Justine Kurland

I’ve been aware of Justine Kurland’s work for less than a year and I’m still astounded that I don’t see it more often. Her landscapes are exquisite and her portrayal of these all-female utopian communities are superb. More than most artists I know, she explores the female as powerful and at one with nature, be they groups of pregnant women and mothers or young adolescent girls taking on the world together, escaping from our modern world. For me it echoes Lord of the Flies, like a parallel of it, where instead of a strong undertone of despair and madness, there is one of hope and togetherness. I haven’t seen another photographer approach the idea of pregnant women as groups in such an inspiring way without even a hint of cliches (apart from maybe the fact of their nudity). In my work, I keep thinking of exploring the same approach of women in groups in a landscape, together… However, with Justine’s work so strong, I’m going to have to push it further, to give my own touch to it. Kurland’s work is so much more about them as a solid group, as a community together facing the odds whereas I’m still looking at the waiting, the carrying, the isolation despite being part of a group…

http://www.mocp.org/exhibitions/2002/06/justine_kurland.php

http://www.miandn.com/#/artists/justine-kurland/

http://www.vice.com/read/an-interview-with-justine-kurland

http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/35789/justine-kurland-francesca-woodman/

 

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