Dimensions: image: 1500 x 1500 mm
Copyright: © Sarah Jones, courtesy Maureen Paley, London | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have Sarah Jones’s photograph, "The Sitting Room (Francis Place) III". The young woman’s expression and posture makes me feel uneasy, but I am curious about the narrative. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a carefully constructed tableau challenging traditional representations of adolescence. Note the tension between the formal setting and the subject's casual attire, her inward gaze. Jones subverts the typical male gaze, presenting a young woman not as an object, but as a subject occupying a space of quiet contemplation, even resistance. Does that resonate with you? Editor: Absolutely, it reframes our understanding of the sitter’s identity in a space that appears to be traditionally domestic. Curator: Precisely. It invites us to question how young women are positioned within society and how they negotiate these spaces. A powerful statement.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/jones-the-sitting-room-francis-place-iii-p78250
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This image comes from a larger body of work in which the artist depicted three young female friends in various settings in and around two houses, Francis Place and Mulberry Lodge. While conforming in some respects to the conventions of portraiture, the detached expression of the girl in this photograph, the lack of narrative content, and the contrast between her casual clothing and pose and the pristine interior of this upper-middle class home, create an unsettling effect. Gallery label, August 2004
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