Creation

Creation depicts a hostile landscape in which a large plain spreads beneath a flame-filled sky. In the foreground of the image is a lake in which plants similar to waterlilies float – except these plants have human faces. In spite of the antagonistic environment, however, the creatures and look quite content.

Alexis Hunter was a New Zealand-born artist celebrated for her early contributions to feminist art. Although best-known for her feminist photo-narratives in the 1970s and 80s, she later moved toward painting as another vehicle to examine gender politics.

Creation exemplifies Hunter’s use of creatures to express ideas about the human condition, contemporary neuroses and female self-image. In particular, her use of creatures explored what exists within the subconscious of a woman, such as taboo ideas of sexuality and freedom.

– Rata Holtslag, 2018