Earlier this year, Jemima Kirke, the British artist and one of the stars of HBO’s show Girls, began asking friends to pose for her in their wedding dresses. But the brides in the resulting paintings are not exuberant and luminous. In fact, they look kind of miserable.
The portraits comprise Kirke’s first solo exhibition at New York’s Sargent’s Daughters, which opened earlier this week. Her subjects include her sister Domino, Girls co-star Allison Williams, and herself. The show, according to the gallery, aims to question the significance of the institution of marriage across different cultures.
Kirke began working on the series in earnest after the breakdown of her own marriage. One work in the show is “a sad self-portrait that I painted before I was divorced,” Kirke told GARAGE. “It was a bit awkward when my husband at the time saw it. He’s intuitive and usually loves to talk about my work, but he said turn that one around.”
See a selection of the works in the show below.
“Jemima Kirke: The Ceremony” is on view at Sargent’s Daughters in New York through January 21.
Jemima Kirke The Ceremony installation view (2017). Photo: courtesy of Sargent’s Daughters.
Jemima Kirke Self-portrait as a Bride #1 (2017). Photo: courtesy of Sargent’s Daughters.
Jemima Kirke The Ceremony installation view (2017). Photo: courtesy of Sargent’s Daughters.
Jemima Kirke Bride in a Dark Room (2017). Photo: courtesy of Sargent’s Daughters.
Jemima Kirke The Ceremony installation view (2017). Photo: courtesy of Sargent’s Daughters.
Jemima Kirke Emma in Her Wedding Dress (2017). Photo: courtesy of Sargent’s Daughters.
Jemima Kirke The Ceremony installation view (2017). Photo: courtesy of Sargent’s Daughters.
Jemima Kirke ShiShi in My Wedding Dress (2017). Photo: courtesy of Sargent’s Daughters.