Mujer opens at Well Well Projects in Portland, OR with new photographic work by Los Angeles-based photographer cortney morentin. This series moves to highlight the beauty and range of femininity that can often be overlooked or overshadowed in our day-to-day society. Soft forms, moving water, and graceful poses find their balance and replace the virility of sharp angles, harsh shadows and forceful lines often lauded in a masculine-centric world. In Mujer, morentin demonstrates the ease with which the feminine, in alls its wonderful fluidity, can come to flourish exquisitely when afforded the unbounded space to do so. With this in mind, the artist pursues a collaborative relationship with her subjects, forming a deep well of trust from which these powerful images can be made. The four women captured here are empowered to lean into the potential of their own beings - to trust their intuition, to turn towards tenderness, and to seek an untapped depth within themselves. Bodies carrying bodies, bodies swimming through water, and bodies at rest here demonstrate a delicate emotional expression, one that hopes to capture them at their most true and vulnerable essence.
This collection of work was born of a personal project aimed to uplift a balance between the soft and the strong. The mediums on display range from print, textile, video and installation, and their interconnectedness in themes mirrors the inherent connection morentin sees between the force and awe of her subjects. She envisions a future wherein this unbounded femininity can continue growing, and aid in the unburdening of the patriarch so deeply rooted in everything. She invites viewers to see this potential, to honor the feminine that has graced their life, and in turn channel their own energy and never let it settle.
cortney morentin (b. 1991, Long Beach, CA) is an artist ever evolving in shape and form. Currently, she is a photographer based in Los Angeles with a nomadic spirit grounded by the relationships nearest and dearest to her. In her many avenues of care and craft, she has sowed the seeds and tended to her love of the arts. She draws inspiration from living authentically, diving deeper within, researching how to better communicate, having a lot of feelings, dancing with abandon, and roaming a city or trail with no agenda. Behind the lens she feels a deep desire to capture the truth, experience a full-bodied life, and nurture sacred relationships.
Mujer opens on December 3rd, with an artist reception from 5-8pm. Gallery visitors are encouraged to bring a printed image of someone who they see embody this energy, and participate in an ‘ofrenda’, or offering, as an installation component to the opening night reception.
