Hannah Starkey, In the Company of Mothers @Bonakdar

JTF (just the facts): A total of 8 large scale color photographs, framed in white and unmatted, and hung in the two gallery rooms on the second floor. All of the prints are c-prints, made in 2012 and 2013. Each work is sized 48x65 and is available in an edition of 5+2AP. (Installation shots at right.)

 

Comments/Context: Hannah Starkey's photographs have always turned on the elusiveness of narrative, placing young women in a variety of modern settings and capturing the traces of subtle moods and introspective emotions running beneath their everyday lives. In her newest pictures, her women return to their urban locales, but with children added to the mix, they now take on the implied role of mother/protector. Starkey's use of slowed down, cinematic observation is the same, but the tiny gestures between mother and child bring a layer of tenderness and connection to the uncertain situations.

 

In Starkey's previous works, she often used elements of setting and props (windows, mirrors, sunglasses etc.) to signal different potential frames of mind, running the gamut from gloomy boredom to self-assured confidence. In these pictures, the paired interaction with the child provides the emotional catalyst. Women cradle young children, hold them in their arms, stand protectively nearby, drape an arm over a nearby shoulder, or merely keep an eye on a wandering kid while trudging along in the snow with too many shopping bags. This particular batch of images is also particularly strong in terms of formal composition - criss-cross girders and a crane with ladders tower over a mother and child, while a bright blue and orange wall provides a backdrop for both a clash of scarf and beads and a gentle touch. Muted visual trickery is often at work as well, with a mother reaching out to the sky of a painted brick mural and a mother/daughter team seen through the reflected distortions of aquarium glass.

 

Starkey's mothers don't seem to lead messy chaotic lives - they appear remarkably calm and in control given the pressures of the job. It's clear that these narratives are centered on the nuanced emotional states of the mothers (not the children), and with just a few carefully placed clues and details, we are able to spin up all kinds of potential storylines for these women. Starkey's subjects are facing the universal challenges of modern urban parenting, but their individual paths and choices are left deftly open-ended.

 

Collector's POV: Each of the prints in the show is priced at £12000. Starkey's work has only recently begun to appear in the secondary markets, primarily in the London sales; prices have ranged from roughly $2000 to $7000.

 

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

 

Transit Hub:

• Interview: Telegraph, 2011 (here)

Hannah Starkey, In the Company of Mothers
Through May 25th

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
521 West 21st Street
New York, NY 10011

Hannah Starkey @Bonakdar

JTF (just the facts): A total of 21 c-prints, framed in white with no mat, displayed on the second floor, in the entry and two gallery rooms. The prints range in size from 19x25 to 48x64, and were taken between 2006 and 2009. All of the prints are made in editions of 5+1AP. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Irish photographer Hannah Starkey's two new bodies of work now on view at Tanya Bonakdar continue her exploration of women and their complex lives/roles in contemporary society.

The large scale cinematic works in the back gallery are all images of women behind glass, with blinds, curtains, and reflective shop windows all providing a barrier between the viewer and the viewed. The staged images are voyeuristic indirect portraits, where the subjects face in sidelong directions, looking away. While these scenes might be slices of everyday life, the overall mood is a mixture of boredom, cool isolation, longing and detachment.

The smaller works in the other gallery (entitled Street Pictures)have much more warmth and life. Using a more snapshot aesthetic, Starkey has photographed women on the street, the common theme being their fabulous sunglasses. Whether worn in the usual manner, or used as a hair accessory, the sunglasses seem to give the women of all ages a heightened sense of confidence, self-reliance and style. While I'm not sure these images will stand up particularly well as individual works, as a group, they're certainly more lively and energetic than the first set of pictures.

The conceptual punch line here is quite obvious: one barrier (the window) creates self-conscious vulnerability, while the other barrier (the sunglasses) creates self-assurance.

Collector's POV: The images in the show are priced at £8000 and £20000, based on size. Starkey's work has only recently appeared in the secondary markets. Prices at auction have ranged between $2000 and $4000 for smaller sized images, and between $4000 and $7000 for larger prints. These works don't fit into our collection, but if careful 21st century scene setting/portraiture is your thing, then these will be worth a look.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Photographs, 1997-2007, published by Steidl (here)
• Sodium Dreams, at Bard, 2003 (here)

Hannah Starkey

Through June 20th

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
521 West 21st Street
New York, NY 10011