Wild Things 1999

Curator: So, before us is Justine Kurland's photograph, "Wild Things," from 1999. The photo presents a group of figures in a dense natural environment, seemingly untouched by human development. What strikes you most upon first viewing it? Editor: An overwhelming feeling of unease, actually. Like stumbling into a lost tribe or maybe even the prelude to a horror film. The figures are almost swallowed by the overgrowth. It reminds me a bit of old mythologies where the woods are not places of pastoral relaxation but primordial spaces full of unknowable entities. Curator: I think that interpretation is insightful, especially in the context of Kurland's body of work. We need to consider the history of the medium itself – the social, cultural, and economic dimensions of photographic image production and distribution, as it very obviously contrasts to typical landscape imagery. Who and what is omitted? Who and what benefits from that production? Editor: I feel the handmade nature is vital to the experience, there is a vulnerability and spontaneity that I greatly value. Considering photography's evolution, and Kurland's methods, are these intentionally breaking down some kind of manufactured distance that the polished photographic art creates, and getting closer to… what feels “real"? Curator: Exactly, let's dig into the layers of representation at work, too. While many commercial images romanticize escape from industrialized existence through nature, Kurland often highlights what has been extracted and removed during its production as art. Note the material of clothing worn by some characters - camouflage is still manufacturing! Editor: The artifice and irony does not detract from its beauty. As a photographer, there are multiple ways to view a work of art. "Wild Things" has an incredibly tangible, visceral atmosphere for the eye – the filtered sun, the almost buzzing green hues of the plants. What might look uncontrolled feels entirely intentional when studying all of the visual material laid bare by Kurland. Curator: In that context, perhaps "wild things" aren't some primitive tribe, but something created through resource use. It really makes one question what that natural-feeling beauty you see has taken from somewhere, or someone, else, and to what end. Editor: What a lovely thought to end with, thank you. Now I can finally begin to plan out what other things I'll question today, perhaps over a pot of herbal tea I forage from my backyard!