Justine Kurland- Girl Pictures

My main inspiration for this photoshoot is Justine Kurland’s ‘Girl Pictures’ book. i believe that this book defines feminism very well due to every photo being very unique and capturing different types of people.

Justine Kurland’s main inspiration for this book was from a young girl in which Justine used to date her father. The girl was sent to live with her father after her mother kicked her out for skipping school and doing drugs. Justine then formed the idea of a photoshoot based on ‘alyssum as a teenage runaway’. where she scouted for models outside various high schools. She also gained inspiration from a TV show about the tales of teenage delinquency.

Justine Kurland’s Girl pictures bring a sense or nostalgia. Every girl in each photo have their own story however come together to live a similar lifestyle. They live without a care in the world, and are truly living their teenage years. Therefore many of the images in Girl Pictures were taken outside in locations that feel desolate or easy to overlook. They are often staged under bridges or beyond fences or on the sides of highways; places that feel synonymous with warnings. The privacy of the overpass is also potent with all the stories we’ve heard of women getting hurt in such places.

Image Analysis:

In Justine Kurland’s image, Femininity is shown throughout by a topless girl standing in front of the mirror. This is a defining aspect of the image as it is something that all girls have however, many people could see this as a young girl being vulnerable in front of a camera. Whereas Justine Kurland views this as empowering, as the subject has confidence within her own body to show it off. Another aspect within this image is the bright pink hand soap on the top of the sink counter top which is accompanied by a girl sat near it with a glossy pink magazine which she is reading. Femininity is shown further through the girl sat on the bathroom floor next to a bag which is spewing out with clothes, who looks like she is having trouble picking out her outfit. the image seems to have been taken at dusk due to the orange light shining through the window of the bathroom. However, the bathroom is light up very bright from the lights in the ceiling and above the mirror.

Where?

Fields (st saviour, st martins)

Woods (st catherines)

Streets/ housing estate (st helier)

Bathrooms

Bedroom

Sand dunes

Beach (st ouens)

When?

Afternoon/ mid-day so the lighting is good.

Who?

I will be getting a friendship group of girls to model for this shoot as it would refer to Justine Kurland’s girl pictures.

Image analysis:

This is a interesting image in my opinion as it is set in a rural area with five young girls in school uniform, which makes the viewer curious as to how they got there, and what they are doing there by themselves. The photo has been taken with natural lighting, at a level height with the main focal point being the two girls on someone else’s back, they look tired and warn out which feeds into Justine’s main inspiration of teenage delinquency and the idea of ‘runaway girls’.