JULIE CURTISS JUXTAPOZ.COM 93I was also thinking about how your work has
some Surrealistic traits, and that when we walk
into museums, not a lot of women are included
in the grand overarching era of Surrealism.
Am I off? Where do you think you fit into that
Surrealist idea? Are you trying to turn back the
clock on the genre a bit?
I remember clearly the moment when I discovered
a sculptural installation by Surrealist artist
Elizabeth Tanning at the Centre Georges Pompidou
in Paris, more than 15 years ago. I was immediately
captivated by it. I think I even tried to copy her
unconsciously by making soft sculpture for a while.
Her sculptures looked like body parts fused to
upholstered objects or furniture.
It's probably true that women, despite how many
there actually have been, weren't much included
until very recently in the Surrealist movement,
which is, without a doubt, similar to other art
movements. Hopefully, things are changing a
bit. In 2017, Susanna Greeves organized and
curated Dreamers Awake, a massive show of female
surrealism at the White Cube Gallery, and I am
so thankful she included me. This survey show
featured more than 50 female artists, from the
women at the origins of the movement (Leonor
Fini, Leonora Carrington, Lee Miller...) to the
younger generation of artists who are bringing
the genre to the front stage, including some fellow
artists and friends like Loie Hollowell, Kelly
Akashi and Cheyenne Julien.
But, to answer your question, I don't think
I am trying to turn back the clock on the genre
because I am more interested in understanding
why history is the way it is. I believe that what
I am doing is revisiting the genre, and paying
homage to some of my favorite artists. I feel
very much in the continuation of my female
predecessors. So much of Surrealism is about
archetypes, and male artists have extensively
represented their female archetypes. The
interesting thing for me, while revisiting the
Surrealist language, is to turn that female
archetype inside out, shifting perception, like
the model descending from the pedestal and
picking up a brush.
Voyeuse is one of my favorite paintings in a long
time and one of things that really draws me to
your work is that it contains mundane everyday
moments, but with slight twists that are like
snapshots from a dream. I take it you aren't,
say, mapping these paintings out by taking a
photograph of a lobster or fish in a sink, right?
How do you start?
Ha! Yes... although life can be more surreal
than art sometimes! My dad is a great cook, and
I remember coming down the stairs as a kid
to find a huge beef tongue soaking in the sink.
That’s pretty surreal! Life itself is surreal for
me, and I get my inspiration from daydreaming.
When I take a stroll in public spaces, weirdly a lot
Top: Another Piece of Pie, Acrylic and oil on panel, 36” x 24”, 2017 Bottom: Jour de fête, Acrylic, vinyl and oil on canvas, 25” x 30” , 2018