Julie Curtiss

Informed by time spent in Japan, for this edition Julie Curtiss collaborated with The Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints, Tokyo, an organisation that continues the tradition of Japanese woodcut print techniques, including the Edo-period practice of ukiyo-e. Facilitating a meticulous realisation of detail, the tactility of the hand-carved woodcut fittingly translates the complexities of Curtiss’ compositions, accentuating the conflicting tones, crisp outlines and the variety of textures characteristic of her paintings.

Horse Chestnut (2023) originates from Curtiss’ gouache on paper of the same name, continuing the artist’s examination of the coded female body. Centred in this cropped composition is a suggestive view of female genitalia, taking the form of a ripening conker. A slyly amusing reference to the female reproductive system, the agitative textures of the jagged conker against smooth skin, nails and flesh become exquisitely emphasised in the act of engraving. Musing on the barbed, deceptive tendencies of temptation, Horse Chestnut deftly realises Curtiss’ psychologically charged depictions of sexuality which are at once libidinal and sinister. In its caustic tone and uneasy confluence of implicit violence and erotic delight, Horse Chestnut questions a lineage of female objectification, summoning uncanny subtext from the intimate objectivity of the fetishistic gaze.