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An old agricultural manual led Odette England to consider the objectification of dairy cows in the farming industry and parallels with the language used about women
"So much of my art-making practice, and myself as a person, rely on the things I learned growing up in that environment," says Odette England. "The idea of never throwing anything away, being industrious, being resourceful, and being part of a community where, if something went wrong for someone, you all pitched in to help. There are principles and morals and ideals I have from growing up in that community that I'm very grateful for. At the same time, because I really know that community, I feel comfortable criticising it."
England grew up on a 200-acre dairy farm in southern Australia, which her family lost to near-bankruptcy in 1989. She's now based in New York, but the farm is a subject she returns to repeatedly, often collaborating with her parents. Generally this work is open-ended, she says, based on "some attraction to an object or place".
England's photographs of her daughter are a case in point. Shot over five years on her parents' former land, these images re-enact moments from England's past. The project began organically, without structure, until she went back to Australia in January 2020 and...