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New Growth: The Art of Jennyfer Stratman

Christmas 2004 and I find myself transplanted from my home in Melbourne, Australia, to the chilly high desert of Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the holidays. Here I find myself, by way of distraction, contemplating the work of American artist Jennyfer Stratman. In a strange way, my own temporary relocation brings with it a greater understanding of Stratman's work. Phoenix-born and Melbourne-based Stratman is a young artist whose life and work have adapted through migration. Her recent work, shown here, follows from earlier interests in botanical and biological forms. Initially using cast body parts and plant forms to translate personal comments about her environment, sexuality, and community, Stratman has developed a visual language that intimately communicates a unique perspective on common human experiences. In recent years, Stratman has brought into her work references to the migrant experience. After moving to Australia in 2001, she established studios in Melbourne and Phoenix, Arizona. The effort of transplanting and maintaining her artistic practice in both countries has been a struggle uniquely depicted in her work. Stratman's struggle in assimilating into her new environment resonates with American and Australian audiences because citizens of both countries are keenly aware of their own migrant histories. And, like a migrating bird, Stratman makes regular journeys from one country to the other, collecting influences and experiences along the way. Stratman has cited the intensely personal expressions of artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Ana Mendieta, and Frida Kahlo as influential in her own development. Certainly, she pours her own potent emotions into depictions of people lost, unable to communicate, or struggling to liberate themselves from earthly burdens. Stratman's main communicative method is empathy. Her figures are dynamically placed in their surroundings, attempting unification where they are blocked, striving for movement or extension where they are