Clare Strand's new bookwork, Girl Plays with Snake is due for publication by MACK in September. The book is a collection of images sourced from the darkest recesses of the artist’s extensive archive. The project is a continuation of Strand’s ongoing engagement with the scrapbooks, magazines and photographs that she has been drawing together since her mid-teens. In this iteration of Strand’s ongoing research and reflection, women and girls are pictured holding, playing with and gazing fondly at snakes. Key to understanding the intention and the perception of the imagery is the inclusion of original accompanying text attached to the reverse, revealing stories of the bizarre and the erotic, alongside Myth and Credo.
Siegfried Kracauer would recognize Strand as a dedicated “Rag Picker”. She describes her working method as being like "rolling in the grass and seeing what you pick up on your jumper.” Strand’s constantly evolving practice brings together intensive research, deadpan humour and insights into popular culture, shifting from the mysterious and the absurd to understanding public obsessions, often via trickery and manipulation. Recent exhibited work includes machines to encourage entropy, web programmes , looped films and intricate photographic constructions focusing on, subverting, reimagining and manipulating the medium’s origins.
Clare Strand would like to make it very clear that she is not a lover of snakes.
You can discover more of Clare Strand's work on her website HERE.
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