Julie Corcoran Artist Statement

My practice uses photography and printmaking to excavate hidden meanings within popular collective consciousness; creating new cultural images to represent womanhood.

I distil ideas through my process, representing what could be, rather than what is; I think of it as aspirational pictorialism.

When an individual looks at my work I want them to feel a connection, as all artists do, I want their inner strength to awaken and their inner hope to spark. My practice sets out to challenge the male gaze (which John Berger described as how womanhood has been culturally depicted by men).

We are so much more then how we’ve been culturally represented in the past, ‘the meek and patient virgin mother, to the always available, sensuous Venus pin-up, or the venerable damsel in distress to the terrifying witch” (Catherine McCormack, Women in the Picture).

My work is predominately lens based. I start with a sentiment or idea and research possible symbolic vehicles to carry that message. I photograph all the elements myself as part of my process with my digital camera, carefully considering their scale and form for use in the final piece. I bring all these digital photographs together on my computer where I manipulate them using software.

It can take days, weeks or months to produce the digital file, the matrix from which the artwork is produced.