Kirsten Lilford
Kirsten Lilford is a South African feminist contemporary artist who is well known for capturing everyday snapshots of domestic scenes and suburban landscapes. She is one of the main representatives of the feminist art movement; a project that wanted to highlight women's perspectives in art and encourage the viewer to question the unfairness being faced by them. Feminist artists worldwide set out to re-establish the founding pillars and reception of contemporary art. The movement inspired change, reshaped cultural attitudes, and transformed gender stereotypes in the arts.
It happens in the best of homes (2017)
Heated Pool (2017)
“Alexandra Gallagher, Kirsten Lilford, Delphine LeBourgeois, and Nina Beier’s Fatigues are multidisciplinary artists who explore notions of feminism, sexuality, and identity with the use of various techniques and forms, such as collage, street art, prints, photography, and painting. Female artists are combining traditional and contemporary influences to give their subjects a subtle yet prominent identity.”
(Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 13, No. 4, 2021, P.6)
In particular, Kirsten Lilford completed her Masters degree at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town and was subsequently awarded the South African Society of Artists Award for Excellence in painting.
Lady leisure (2017)
A pink thread connects the scenarios that enclose women's daily lives. The garden, the flowers and the care of the smallest animals are the paradox that predominates in many societies. From a double plane, the interior and exterior of a home are contemplated, presenting us to ways of conceiving our society. The exterior is characterized by the slovenliness of the complex world. The blue and red colors show up together with the woods from the facade. A world that demands effort and sacrifice. The internal scenery with its pinks and flowers show the feminine neatness based on the stereotype of what in many occasions can be conceived as “beautiful” and calm. A world that apparently seems to not require any effort.
Faceless women, women who do not look and cannot be seen characterize each of the pieces of this artist representing the everyday life of our collective. The perfect hair, measurements and clothes. The confinement of the everyday leads us to wonder what these women are thinking. Which their dreams are, their desires, outside the confinement well known as everyday life.
“My work is about trying to make sense of a reality, whether it is my own or someone else’s.”
