Artist Statement

Hurtgen’s work explores the tenuous relationship between humanity and the natural world, imagining how technology and industry might have a sort of turbo-charged Darwinian effect on the trajectory of evolution. In staged scenarios and photomontages, a menagerie of animals and objects acts out scenes of confrontation and discomfort. Referencing traditional iconographies, Hurtgen’s images create an unsettling future, one populated with hybrid creatures and unknown substances. Whilst there is a playful undercurrent to much of her work, ultimately it aims to confront the viewer with the more serious environmental issues of our time.

Awards

• 2010 - Dean's Award for Academic Excellence
• 1986 - Sarah Williston Scholar

Qualifications

• 2008 - 2011 : COFA, MArt
• 2003 : San Francisco State University, California Teaching Credential, Fine Art
• 1988 : Mount Holyoke College, Bachelor of Art, cum laude

Skills

• Analogue & digital photography
• Art education & curriculum development
• Digital imaging & photomontage
• Drawing, painting & mixed media