ESSENTIALITY, BRITTA KOKEMOR AND AURORA QUINLAN 

Studio 1130, February 12 – February 24
Hours: see studio1130.com 

This series of works comes from a collaborative effort between Photographer, Britta Kokemor and Visual Artist, Aurora Quinlan. As a duo, they have captured comparable emotive themes of raw and real femininity; a true element of vulnerability was exchanged and displayed in the works by intertwining painting and photography. 

 Creating comfort in the self-conscious, Britta captured each of the individual women in an exposed state while still paying attention to the surrounding, technical environment. Questions around “what it means to be feminine” and “defining the feminine lens” were discussed, with every expression being captured through the dialogue. Each discussion was relayed back to Aurora, who painted on each woman’s printed portrait. Aurora captured the tone and texture of each woman, translating directly onto the portrait with paint. Brushstrokes ranged from supple to strong depending on the experience between Britta and the woman being photographed. 

Identity isn't fixed, and femininity isn't static. Britta and Aurora's work taps into the underlying beauty of being vulnerable as a woman and ever-flowing femininity, while creating a sense of freedom, movement, and feeling in a woman’s body captured through a camera flash and a paintbrush. This project attempts to define female beauty through a new lens, a lens that captures connection over commodity. 

The title, Essentiality, was created while trying to decide how to embody a woman’s whole and complex nature. Finding words that encompass each woman’s intricacies posed a challenge, but once they came across the word essentiality, Britta and Aurora felt that it spoke to what was trying to be achieved. This show brings together two artists, women's essentiality as beautiful, real, and complicated beings. 

Access: Location is wheelchair accessible

Studio 1130, 1130 3rd Street SE Calgary Alberta T2G 5T6