Heidi Kirkpatrick | Photographic Souvenirs

Heidi Kirkpatrick’s photographs reveal the delicacies of the female figure. The images depict familial stories and concerns of today’s women.

“My images have confronted many subjects that plague modern women,” says Heidi Kirkpatrick, “family, memory, doubt of self-image, breast cancer, objectification, pain, and addiction.”

Heidi Kirkpatrick, With One Arm Behind Her Back II, 2012

Having been surrounded by strong women throughout her life has helped the artist create her unique style. Working with the allures of the feminine form seems like an instinctive approach for her images that convey the universalities that some women experience.

Her Souvenirs series deals with the expectations of contemporaries – women restrained in confined places. This is the first project that integrated book pages with imagery.

Kirkpatrick uses found objects to exhibit her photographs instead of traditional frames: children’s blocks with worn corners, tattered tins, pocket-sized books with fragile pages, and old ashtrays. She infuses a new energy into these discarded items.

Heidi Kirkpatrick, Presse, 2012

“My intent is to make works that are approachable in form and content, and are interactive, yet fragile,” says Kirkpatrick, who finds beauty in antiquities.

The artist devotes a lot of time to searching for trinkets at second-hand stores, yard sales, and antique shops. Family and friends even give her objects they think can be used for her creations.

Oftentimes, the knick-knacks pair themselves naturally with her photographs; Kirkpatrick immediately knows which to couple. “But other times,” says the artist, “I need to live with the pieces for a while for the marriage to happen.”

“I sit at my table and work my puzzle, combining image with object,” says Kirkpatrick. “My studio is filled with objects of inspiration.”

Heidi Kirkpatrick, Hinds', Never Closed, 2009

Kirkpatrick’s pieces are warm and familiar. I imagine her ashtray, Hinds', Never Closed (2009), placed on a cherry wood side table in a cigar parlor; a relaxed gentleman holds an Arturo Fuente in the room blanched with smoke. Or perhaps, her cased images (Specimens), Branch (2011), could possibly hold a heart locket, a great-grandmother’s heirloom.

Heidi Kirkpatrick, Branch, 2011

Her most recent work incorporates wood, children’s toys, wine boxes and books. Kirkpatrick has also been applying photographs to ceramics. Kirkpatrick’s newest pieces on round, ceramic orbs, copper plates, and books, can be seen at Panopticon Gallery.

Story by Panopticon Gallery intern Marianne Salza.
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