Jump to content

Draft:Kirsty Mitchell (artist)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kirsty Mitchell (artist)

[edit]
Kirsty Mitchell
Kirsty exhibiting in Mayfair, London
NationalityBritish
OccupationArtist
Known forFine art photography
Notable workThe Wonderland Series
Websitekirstymitchell.art

Kirsty Linsel Mitchell (born 7 May 1976) is a British fine art photographer whose past careers in fashion design and costume making, enable her to create highly elaborate, staged scenes as the subject for her works. She is most known for her renowned photographic series ‘Wonderland’ and is the author of its accompanying record-breaking book by the same title. Her work is entirely real, taking Mitchell months to meticulously handcraft every aspect within the frame, including the props and sets.[1][2][3][4]

Early life and education

[edit]

Mitchell began her higher education at the age of 16 studying History of Art, Fine Art, and Photography. At 19 she specialised in 'Costume for Performance'; at the London College of Fashion, gaining a Higher National Diploma with Distinction. She continued her studies for a further 3 years at Ravensbourne College of Art, graduating in 2001 with a First Class Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honours in ‘Fashion Design and Textiles’.[5]

Between the years 1999 – 2001, Kirsty interned at the London studios of British Avant Garde Designers Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan. For the next decade Mitchell worked as a fashion designer specialising in surface decoration and fabric manipulation, spending time in India and China, learning in depth the crafts of beading and embroidery.[1][2][4][6][7]

In 2008, the artist’s mother Maureen Mitchell was diagnosed with a brain tumour. It was during this time, at the age of 32, that Mitchell developed an impulsive and deeply personal connection with photography, as a way to process her emotions during her mother’s illness. Maureen’s death in November 2008 became the turning point in Kirsty’s life, the catalyst to becoming a full-time artist and producing her series 'Wonderland'.[2][4][5][7][8]

Work

[edit]

Wonderland

[edit]

Wonderland is an award-winning[9][10][11][12][13] collection of 74 photographs by Kirsty Mitchell, created in memory of her mother Maureen Mitchell, who was an English teacher with a passion for storytelling.[1][4][14]

Mitchell describes the photographs as meditations on the stories and illustrations from the fairy tales her mother read to her as a child, mixed with her adult grief and spiritual connection with nature. The series took 5 years to produce and was completed at the end of 2014.[1][3][14]

Throughout the development of the series Kirsty published a personal journal (the ‘Wonderland Diaries’) which documents the painstaking process behind her creation of each photograph, the costumes and props, as well as an emotional insight into her struggles with bereavement.[1][3][15]

The Wonderland Book

[edit]

The award-winning[16][17] Wonderland Book features the entire Wonderland collection and is accompanied by extensive behind the scenes photos from the shoots, costume galleries of the pieces and Kirsty’s personal journal.[1][2]

Driven by the need to create a book beautiful enough to commemorate her late mother, Kirsty collaborated with renowned British designer Stuart Smith to design the book, and launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter on September 9th, 2015.[1][2][3][4]

The campaign raised over £334k in 28 days and became the highest grossing photobook ever on Kickstarter, a record it still holds to this day.[1][2][3][4][15] The 1st and 2nd editions of the book have since sold out and it is now in its 3rd edition.

Quiescence

[edit]

In 2019 Mitchell began shooting her new series ‘Quiescence’ which is based on events in her life between 2015 – 2017, during which time she became pregnant with her only child Finch, and 8 months later was diagnosed with breast cancer.[1]

Mitchell draws a parallel with her process for Wonderland, by once again translating painful real life experiences into a fantastical narrative for this new body of work. However, she describes the production level as a far greater undertaking than her earlier work, with fine art films being made of each scene, and some of the sets having taken the artist an entire year to make.[1]

She remains in remission and lives and works in the English countryside with her husband Matthew and their young son.

Awards and Accolades

[edit]
  • Budapest International Foto Awards – 2022 – Silver Award in Book / Fine Art category for ‘The Wonderland Book’.[16]
  • Budapest International Foto Awards – 2022 - Bronze Award in Fine Art / Other category for the ‘Wonderland’ series.[9]
  • ND Photography Awards – 2022 - 3rd Place/ Bronze Star Award in Professional Fine Art: Conceptual category for ‘Wonderland’ series.[10]
  • ND Photography Awards – 2022 - Honourable Mention in Professional Portraiture category for ‘Minna’ portrait.[18]
  • International Photography Awards – 2016 - Honourable Mention in Fine Art Book Category for ‘The Wonderland Book’.[19]
  • Kickstarter – 2015 to present – ‘Most Funded’ Photobook / Photography book for ‘The Wonderland Book’.[1][2][3][4][15][20]
  • Lens Culture Visual Storytelling Awards – 2014 - Grand Prize Winner in Fictional Narratives category.[11][12]
  • London International Creative Competition -2014 - Finalist in Professional Photography category for ‘The Secret Locked In The Roots Of A Kingdom’ (from the ‘Wonderland’ series).[13]
  • Nikon UK ‘Ambassador for Fine Art’, 2013 – 2016. Nikon’s first ever Ambassador for Fine Art, and also Nikon’s first female ambassador.[21]
  • Framed Awards (US) – Best Conceptual Photographer – 2012. Winner.[21]

Public Exhibitions

[edit]
  • ‘Wonderland: Photographs by Kirsty Mitchell’ at Museum of Art – DeLand, Florida, US. January 10th – May 31st, 2020.[4]
  • ‘Kirsty Mitchell: Wonderland’ at Fotografiska Museum, Tallinn, Estonia. September 13th  - November 24th, 2019.[22]
  • ‘Kirsty Mitchell: Wonderland’ at Fotografiska Museum, Stockholm, Sweden. December 7th, 2018 – March 3rd, 2019.[3][23]
  • ‘Wonderland: Photographs by Kirsty Mitchell’ at The Fort Wayne Museum of Art, USA. June 3rd - September 2nd, 2018.[24]
  • ‘Wonderland: Photographs by Kirsty Mitchell’ at The Paine Art Museum, Wisconsin. June 17th – October 29th, 2017.[25]
  • 'Fairy Tale Fashion' at The Museum at FIT, New York. January 15th – April 16th, 2016. Select artworks from the ‘Wonderland’ series.[26][27]
  • ‘The National: Best Contemporary Photography 2015’ at The Fort Wayne Museum of Art, USA. October 3rd, 2015 - January 3rd, 2016.[28]

Publications

[edit]
  • Wonderland. By Kirsty Mitchell. 2015. ISBN 978-0993446405
  • Fairy Tale Fashion. By Colleen Hill. 2016. ISBN 978-0300218022
  • The Fairie Handbook. By Carolyn Turgeon. 2017. ISBN 978-0062668110
[edit]

Official website: https://www.kirstymitchell.art/

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Flux Edition 9 Kirsty Mitchell Wonderland Article.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g ""Through the Looking Glass" - The Royal Photographic Society (Volume 156)". archive.rps.org. February 2016. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Kirsty Mitchell | Fotografiska Museum Stockholm". stockholm.fotografiska.com. 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Wonderland: Photographs by Kirsty Mitchell". Museum of Art - DeLand. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  5. ^ a b Sawa, Dale Berning; Sawa, Interview by Dale Berning (2019-03-14). "Kirsty Mitchell's best photograph: a storyteller in a bluebell wonderland". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  6. ^ Sritharan, Brennavan. "The dreamlike fairytales of Kirsty Mitchell - 1854 Photography". www.1854.photography. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  7. ^ a b "Photographer's Magical Tribute To Her Mother". HuffPost UK. 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  8. ^ "Secret Grief Behind My Dream Worlds", Sunday Telegraph article, retrieved 2024-09-28
  9. ^ a b "Bronze Winner - Wonderland". budapestfotoawards.com. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  10. ^ a b "Fine Art: Conceptual - 3rd place bronze star award - Kirsty Mitchell (United Kingdom)". ndawards.net. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  11. ^ a b LensCulture. "LensCulture Visual Storytelling Awards 2014". LensCulture. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  12. ^ a b LensCulture, Kirsty Mitchell |. "Wonderland - Photographs and text by Kirsty Mitchell". LensCulture. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  13. ^ a b "Shortlist in Photography, Finalists in Photography / The Secret Locked In The Roots Of A Kingdom". LICC. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  14. ^ a b Rodrigues Stumpo, Joana (17 May 2022). "Wonderland, article in Vogue (Portugal)". www.vogue.pt. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  15. ^ a b c Wonderland by Kirsty Mitchell (Photographize Issue 3). 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Silver Winner - Wonderland". budapestfotoawards.com. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  17. ^ "IPA 2016 Winner / The Wonderland Book / Kirsty Mitchell Photography / Kirsty Mitchell". photoawards.com. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  18. ^ "People: Portrait - honorable mention - Kirsty Mitchell (United Kingdom)". ndawards.net. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  19. ^ "IPA 2016 Winner / The Wonderland Book / Kirsty Mitchell Photography / Kirsty Mitchell". photoawards.com. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  20. ^ Sambrook, Lucy (2015-09-14). "Photographer honors mother through most amazing conceptual photography portraits". Metro. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  21. ^ a b "Nikon Nation Kirsty Mitchell Interview". ePHOTOzine. 14 Aug 2013.
  22. ^ ERR (2019-09-13). "Galerii: Fotografiskas avati Kirsty Mitchelli näitus "Imedemaa"". ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  23. ^ Barnes, Sara (2019-02-25). "Interview: Kirsty Mitchell's Multi-Sensory "Wonderland" Is Unlike Any Other Photo Exhibit". My Modern Met. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  24. ^ "Wonderland: Photographs by Kirsty Mitchell". FWMoA. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  25. ^ "Wonderland: Photographs by Kirsty Mitchell". Paine Art Center and Gardens. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  26. ^ "Fairy Tale Fashion". www.fitnyc.edu. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  27. ^ Mitchell, Timothy (2016-01-09). "This stylish exhibit shows you really can dress like a princess". Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  28. ^ "The National: Best Contemporary Photography 2015". FWMoA. Retrieved 2024-09-28.

Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Draft:Kirsty_Mitchell_(artist)&oldid=1248826887"