Josephine's Mother

From the "Readings" series

by Sonja van Kerkhoff, 2015

Photo print painting on aluminium by Sonja van Kerkhoff, 2015
Photo print on aluminum. Some prints also are layered with paint and varnish. 5/35. For sale for NZ$ 230 plus postage.
10 x 10 x 2 cm. This edition is limited to 35.
There is also an XL version that is 20 x 20 cm.

 Photo print on aluminium by Sonja van Kerkhoff, 2015
Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1,
known by its colloquial name "Whistler's Mother,"
oil on canvas, 1871, by James Whistler.
144.3 cm x 162.4 cm.

 Photo print on aluminium by Sonja van Kerkhoff, 2015
Photo print on aluminum. Edition of 35. 1/35,
Private Collection, The Netherlands.
10 x 10 x 2 cm.
Most prints are painted with layers
of wash and varnish.

The pose and composition of "Josephine's Mother" is similar to the 1871 painting "Whistler's Mother."

In this case, Josephine is the child the young woman is carrying. The mother looks alert and details such as a watch and the wall plug indicate that hers is a contemporary world, although she wears clothing typical of a bygone age. She is the future: the next generation, carrying the next.

This was also the daily attire of my daughter-in-law. In the Netherlands she was frowned at because it was assumed that she also held conservative views, while in New Zealand people tended to respond out of curiousity.
"Josephine's Mother" is a contemporary portrait of a young Dutch woman, whose outer appearance is read in strongly contrasting ways between New Zealand and in the Netherlands.

Shown

2016      The Poetic Condition The Shutter Room, Whangarei, Aotearoa | New Zealand.

2016      Pattern and Form Opua Arts Studio and Gallery, Opua, Aotearoa | New Zealand.

2015-16Calling All Dreamers Village Arts Gallery, Kohukohu, Aotearoa | New Zealand.

2015      Te Tiriti | The Treaty - a bicultural conversation Kings Theatre Gallery, Kawakawa, Aotearoa | New Zealand.





 Photo print on aluminium by Sonja van Kerkhoff, 2015
Josephine's Mother, 2015, acrylic and varnish on dibond, 16/36.



The "Readings" series

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