Julie Blackmon " Domestic Vacations "

American photographer Julie Blackmon, the oldest of nine children and mother to three, uses her own family members and household to explore the fantastic elements of our everyday lives. Her photographs are  also inspired by Dutch and Flemish paintings from the 17th century, in particularly by Jan Steen whose work is known for convivial scenes of families and common people. Kids rule in Julie Blackmon's world. They take over rooms, backyards, entire houses. The photographer describes her work as a domestic landscape of the past and present. Blackmon has had many solo exhibitions, and her work is held in numerous collections, among them the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the Center for Contemporary Photography, Chicago.
Her recent book, Domestic Vacations features 45 of Blackmon's color photographs. Fragments of fairytales mix with the furniture, children pile upon each other, arms, legs, clothes and things all swirl in a colorful array of reality.

Images courtesy of Julie Blackmon