During the months of May and June 2022, we’re pleased to present the works of artist Shelly Lawrence Kirkwood.
When did you first realize you wanted to become an artist?
I don’t think it was a realization, so much as something that I always knew. I started taking pictures in 6th grade when I got my first camera – a Polaroid. I got more serious in high school and then studied photography in college. I was very interested in subversive portraiture. Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Diane Arbus, and Sally Mann were some of the artists I poured over again and again. I did a lot of my portraiture in the forest from the beginning, but I was very interested in what the camera could show that the eye could not see.
What inspires your art? Is there some significance to the black background or is that simply a stylistic choice?
This series is inspired by my connection to the land and what it means in my sense of home and belonging. Our identities are tied to the land. I made this series as a kind of devotional project as I moved from my home in the desert back to my home turf, so to speak. I consider each image to be a monument. The black just helped me focus on the details of each object in a minimalist way.
Which artists have played a role in influencing your style?
The artist that influence me work directly with their materials, and that’s what I am starting to do with my work. I am actually experimenting with anthotypes; it’s a 19th century process that uses plant pigments as photo emulsion. One artist who particularly inspires me is Susan Derges. She records the landscape directly with her materials. I suggest her book Woman Thinking River–it’s phenomenal. Other artists I love are Wolfgang Laib, James Turrell, and later work by Andy Goldworthy. I also love the painter Robert Motherwell. Their world elicits a very visceral response.
What draws you to photography of flowers and foliage more than other art styles?
I find my spirituality in nature. My work is 80% the experience of these materials and the process of collecting them, and 20% production.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not finding that perfect flower to photograph?
I am a huge reader. I have been reading a lot of poetry this year. I also spend a lot of time looking at all kinds of art. I love being by the sea.
After winning a gold medal and Best in Show at the RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show in London last year and your two-month exhibit here at La Grua Center, what’s next for you?
This work may be exhibited at the Berkshire botanical garden. I am also teaching a photography/forest bathing course at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. There are three spaces left, and it’s in the 3rd week of June.
My hope is to really dig in to some new projects this year.
You can keep up with my process on instagram @shelleylkirkwood
