PORTRAYING FEMININITY AND THE UNCONSCIOUS WITH JENNY MAGRUDER
Photographer
WORDS: MERI UTKOVSKA
"An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned," said the great Nina Simone, "is to reflect the times.” And for the artist to be able to reflect the times, the artist must first be aware of their own reflection - the way the movement of their hand, unfettered and wing-like, slants the 8-minute-old afternoon sunlight, staining ground and time with shadow and memory; or how their voice, cracked at places by song, weep, and gasp, travels on the wind's spine with a bag of desire under its arm; or how their presence, altering the existence of moments and places, breaking the rain's trajectory toward fall, and inhabiting the washed shore's rim with thought and feeling, is only a passing thing.
Looking through the lens of her camera, photographer Jenny Magruder looks back at herself—herself as a woman, a presence that has taken on a human form and a mind with nature's wisdom and intelligence.
In our conversation, she spoke about photography, feminity and what it means to her, experimenting with self-portraiture to uncover parts of herself, and using the camera to connect with nature.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jenny Magruder is a fine art photographer and artist. Raised in Texas and Alaska, she developed a deep relationship with nature. She began photographing at age 16 with a Pentax film camera.
Jenny works with film and digital images to explore the nature of being, often experimenting and practising self-portraiture to reveal glimpses of an unconscious mind. Driven to connect with herself, her work is inspired by dreams, memories, and the natural world. Through themes of femininity, transformation, spirituality, anxiety, and mystery, she finds beauty in existing.
Jenny holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts in photographic illustration from Rochester Institute of Technology (2012) and has exhibited her work nationally as well as internationally at venues such as Somerset House London, Gallery R, Vandernoot Gallery and The Great Highway Gallery. Her work has been printed by Black Flower Publishing and The Sun Magazine. She is currently based in Buffalo, NY and continues to make new work.
A RAY OF SIGH is honoured to present a selection of photographer Jenny Magruder's works, including "self-control, self-portrait 2022, ilford black and white negative film," "shadowed, self portrait 2024, fujifilm instax film," "untitled, 2024, polaroid instant film," and "the other side, 2024, polaroid instant film."
self-control, self-portrait 2022, ilford black and white negative film
© Jenny Margruder
MERI UTKOVSKA Jenny, thank you so much for being a part of this conversation and sharing your thoughts with me.
One of the themes you have mentioned to explore in your work is femininity.
When I think about my femininity, I see it as a revolutionary act - an immensely active way of being aware and connected to grace, softness, sensuality, and the power of communicating my feelings, thoughts, and desires freely. We live in a time, however, where there seems to be a bit of a misconception about the term and what it represents, so, I’m curious, what does ‘femininity’ mean to you, and how has practising the art of photography helped you connect with your own?
JENNY MAGRUDER Meri, thank you so much for inviting me to this discussion with you.
I believe femininity is transcendent of gender, a universal energy available to all that is part of the polarity of nature.
I also see it as an inherently revolutionary act and agree that the term can be misrepresented, especially by those who find it threatening. This misrepresentation surrounded me growing up, as I learned to internalize a message of shame. I was taught that qualities I practised and cherished such as empathy, creativity and free expression made me weak. Since then, I have been working to unlearn this through making photographs and exploring how femininity can be expressed in a safe place as well as the effects of not being able to do so. I feel especially vulnerable to shame when making self-portraits and try to practice meeting myself with grace and acceptance. Providing a nurturing space to consider these feelings for myself and my subjects can be healing, but serve as a reminder that we still have a long way to go in valuing feminine and masculine energy equally.
shadowed, self portrait 2024, fujifilm instax film
© Jenny Magruder
MERI UTKOVSKA You speak in your bio about experimenting with self-portraiture, which is something that is a major part of my work - whether it’s through poetry, film, or photography.
In an age flooded with selfies, filters, and an overall insatiable need for hiding our imperfection, which is, at its core, a manifestation of nature herself, how important do you think self-portraiture is in the attempt to uncover one’s self and come to terms with who they are?
JENNY MAGRUDER I've noticed that my process for self-portraiture over time, especially when working with film, has become very slow and grounded in my intuition in the moment. It feels like a conversation with the self, as I am split into two- the artist and the subject. I'm forced to confront the part of myself that is critical, but also vulnerable. I have found this method extremely valuable in an attempt to process my emotions and accept my true self.
untitled, 2024, polaroid instant film
© Jenny Magruder
MERI UTKOVSKA As a photographer, you take something ephemeral and transform it into permanence. From The Tree of Life, through the butterfly, the lotus, and the Ouroboros, humanity has always been trying to tell the story of transformation and the importance of having to go through it.
“The Ouroboros,” said the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, “is a dramatic symbol for the integration and assimilation of the opposite, i.e. of the shadow.”
Could you speak a bit about the language of light and shadow in your creative process? Do you use them as tools, perhaps, to connect to the unconscious mind and make space for the unknown to become known?
JENNY MAGRUDER For me, the magic of light and shadow is that they are counterparts of a whole, one cannot exist without the other. The contrast of light and dark and the idea of polarity is reflected in all of nature and makes no exception. As a photographer, I tend to be a seeker of natural light and like to make most of my work outside. This allows me to intuitively incorporate this dichotomy- making even deeper connections with the unconscious. In my work, there is sometimes an imbalance of light and darkness, with the shadows encapsulating the subject in a silhouette with a glimmer of light reflected. I look for these moments as a device to explore isolation and fear of the unknown that is often on my mind. It can be easier to focus on the light, but to give a voice to the darker parts of ourselves, the unconscious mind, is to accept our humanity and ourselves completely. Through this acceptance I hope to find transformation.
the other side, 2024, polaroid instant film
© Jenny Magruder
Exhibitions
Analog Forever Magazine, “Home Sweet Home”, Vandernoot Gallery, Cambridge MA, Feb 4th-March 15 2024
Lenscratch, “The Favorite Photograph You Took in 2023”, online group exhibition, part 11, January 2024
Delaware Camera x the Buffalo Film Club, “World Analog Day” group exhibition, December 2023
Analog Forever Magazine, “Home Sweet Home” online group exhibition, September 2023
Analog Forever Magazine, “Glitch in the Matrix” online group exhibition, August 2023
Analog Forever Magazine, “Art of Illusion” online group exhibition, January 2023
Wave Collective, “Counter Collective 2 Year Anniversary” group exhibition, 2022
The Great Highway Gallery, “Within & Without” group exhibition, 2022
The Gallery at Photolab Berkeley, “Off The Clock” group exhibition, 2018
Pirate: Contemporary Art, “Where You Begin” group exhibition, 2014
Somerset House London, Sony World Photography Awards Professional Shortlist: Conceptual group exhibition, 2013
The Gallery at Equal Grounds, “Things that are still” group exhibition, 2012
SPAS Gallery & Gallery R, “I know you through pictures” group exhibition, 2012
Somerset House London, Sony World Photography Awards group exhibition, 2012
Publications
Black Flower Publishing, “The Garden of Dreams”, group volume of photographs and poetry, January 2024
The Sun Magazine, Issue 573, online and print, September 2023
Alter Analog, “Jenny Magruder glimpses the unconscious mind” online interview, August 2023
Analog Forever Magazine, “Glitch in the Matrix” online gallery, August 2023
Pearl Press, Hail Mary Issue, 2023
Analog Forever Magazine, “Art of Illusion” online gallery, 2023
YourDailyPhotograph.com, 2 photographs accepted, 2022
Findrangers Magazine, Issue 27, 2022
The Hand Magazine, Issue 37, 2021
Aeonian Magazine, Issue 6, 2021
ID-Vice, “Photographing young marriage in the digital age”, online interview, 2015
Sony World Photography Awards, Professional Shortlist: Conceptual, 2013
Awards
Sony World Photography Awards, Professional Shortlist: Conceptual, 2013
Sony World Photography Awards, Student Focus Finalist, 2012
