BLINK ARTIST GUIDE

Sarah Cooper and Nina Gorfer

Cooper & Gorfer comprises the artists Sarah Cooper (US, SE, 1974) and Nina Gorfer (AT, 1979). Their work centers around themes of illusion, memory and dislocation, illustrating the malleability of identity through layered pictorial collages of the female experience. The artist duo is known for their distinct hybrid portraits of women and immersive worlds with socio-political undertones. Using a point of departure in photography, their work ranges from physically layered collages with painted and embroidered materials, to photographs of disassembled images in different states of ephemeral montage. The complexities of their subjects are reflected in the process and the fragmentation of the artwork’s surfaces. Sarah Cooper and Nina Gorfer reimagine the tradition of portraiture by visually examining and deconstructing the narrative layers of those they portray. As much audience as creators, the artists’ own experiences are intertwined with that of the protagonist, resulting in images in