Continuing through May 23, 2015
Jock Sturges presents a formidable series of photographs depicting the narrative of Fanny, as she evolves from a French girl, to an adolescent and finally a woman. The coming-of-age series captures Fanny over the course of fifteen years. The work documents her from vulnerable toddler to awkward teen to graceful adult. Also accompanying the show is a lovely monograph produced by Steidel. Sturges stages Fanny on the shores and in the waters of Montalivet on the coast of southwestern France. She is nude and poses alone but is joined by other figures in some images, presumably family or friends. These secondary characters seem to be “found” as if Sturges showed up to shoot Fanny and included the people surrounding her as a backdrop.
Sturges alludes to narrative through Fanny’s different poses. Her body develops a language, giving the viewer an indication of the backstory at the various transitions in her young life. She is first seen in a fetal position, later conveys strength and beauty and finally, in the most recent photographs, her fertile femininity in a state of pregnancy. The works here are arranged chronologically from the left of the space to the right, making it effortless for the viewer to examine the elegant nuances of Fanny’s development.
