Julie Heffernan is a California born, New York resident. Her paintings were described by the writer Rebecca Solnit as “a new kind of history painting.” Her works are full of an ancient mythological symbolism but with a sci-fi, fantasy twist. Although many of the themes and styles seem pretty familiar, the detail and modernity of the pieces are something quite new to my Luddite eyes.
Here’s what Heffernan has to say about her motivations as an artist:
My recent work is focused on making sense of the world around me after calamities such as Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. We are slowly making our world unlivable, and I want to bring to the surface the destructive action, waste, and contamination that is generally invisible to us.
I need to imagine another way, to outfit myself with signs and banners that speak louder than I can, to envision how we might remake the world as it is slowly falling apart.
Her paintings are all presented as self-portraits. Here are a selection of her impressively vast back catalogue (click to enlarge):
