Kira Del Mar

In my current series - Mythography - I use portraiture to explore the ongoing relevance of myth, fairytale, and folklore, casting myself as the mythographer, in every sense of that word.
In part, I envisioned this series as a counter-balance to the pop-culture trend of remaking fairytale heroines into kick-ass prince-rescuers - most of whom are, in the end, every bit as one-dimensional as the doe-eyed stereotypes they replaced. From a contemporary feminist perspective, there are certainly problematic elements within many of the original tales from the Ancient Greeks to the Brothers Grimm. However, the answer isn't to throw them out, or to simply rewrite them. I have tried, instead, to examine the complexities of these characters, and to see the ways in which we draw on these enduring stories to imbue our own experiences with meaning, and to see purpose and narrative in what can threaten to feel like chaos or absurdity. I choose to see and reflect the value in that which is old and laden with tradition, rather than always pushing forward into the new. In these portraits I am not interested in using models to illustrate storybook characters, or in faithfully recording the likenesses of contemporary individuals. I want, rather, to e...