Neil Selkirk: Certain Women
Howard Greenberg Gallery presents another captivating photographic exhibition, this time by Neil Selkirk who is known for his powerful and relentless portraitures.
The exhibition entitled Certain Women delves into the world of motherhood, revealing secret signs hidden in the faces of the subject’s common experience. The images were taken from 1991 to 2009 across the US – Vermont to Carolina to New York to Montana.
Selkirk’s inspiration for these images was born out of his own experience as a parent living the daily routine of dropping off children at school in Lower Manhattan. During this time, Selkirk was repeatedly surprised by the stature and bearing of his generation’s female counterparts. These contemporary mothers were now suddenly expected to do it all – handle a job and family and balance them with the illusions of personal fulfilment.
Selkirk’s experience grew into a project that led to a series of road trips across the country for nearly 20 years. When choosing subjects for the project Selkirk’s only requirement was that the women had a child between 10 and 20 years at the time of the photo. His reasoning was that after 10 years of motherhood, the experience and wisdom gained from being a parent would have left its marks on their faces.
In order to bring remarkable depth into the images Selkirk used a unique mixture of photographic techniques combining large film negatives with the tonal range of archival digital printing. The large prints were then embedded in large thick slabs of glass, making them appear as if they are floating of the wall in a state of permanent suspension.
Certain Women will be on display at Howard Greenberg Gallery from Thursday 19 March – Saturday 2 May 2015. The exhibition will be accompanied by a limited edition hand-bound book, containing 44 individually signed prints.
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