Jules Slutsky is a Brooklyn based photographer. Her work employs analog cameras, working between large format and 35mm. Jules’ artwork explores elements inherent in the formation of identity and the ephemeral nature of collective memory. It touches upon the myths in our daily existence and the mundane ceremonies we participate in to upkeep those narratives. Her isolated moments in space and time are deeply personal and at once universally felt. Jules currently works as a freelance photographer. She attended university at SUNY Purchase where she received her BFA in photography.
So You Speak Russian?
So You Speak Russian? explores the search for home and identity through the eyes of a female immigrant. Photographed over the course of five years, displacement, isolation are emphasized through solitary portraits of family members and acquaintances who’s names have become forgotten. Setting place between the home environments of New York City, New Jersey and Ukraine. This work searches through sun damaged wall papers and broken floors of once hospitable rooms in which the artist was raised. Meticulous still-lifes of family members are arranged as one decorates an altar. The title is a nod toward the country’s political and cultural desecration, still reeling from the effects of Soviet-era rule; deepening the question of a person’s – and in turn a country’s – identity. Whether an allegory of a present condition or an attempt to re-frame the past, the work addresses our basic human need of belonging and ties to our land, which is at once a deeply personal journey and a universal struggle.
To view more of Jules Slutsky’s work please visit her website.