Artist's Statement

The images I create seek to capture the mystery and importance of daily life and the physical sensations through which I experience it. Translating these sensations into visual art allows me to integrate this body of changeable experience.

By painting portraits of somatic experiences, I seek to represent myself as a subject rather than an object, a practice I believe is especially important for women. In doing this, I must explore the tension between individual experience and the socio-cultural systems that shape it.

Drawing and movement are my preliminary practices and my finished works reflect my love of flowing lines and bold, flat shapes. I seek to capture both structure and fluidity as a way of reconstructing my somatic experience. I am inspired by traditionally female art forms such as knitting, embroidery, cooking and storytelling. Natural formations that reference the female body inform my compositions, some of my favourites being rock and ice caves, shadows, and botanical forms. I am also fascinated with superstition, religious weirdness, and the architectural and habilimentary aesthetics humans use to signify divinity and mortality.

Because they help me connect with my body, my favourite mediums are physical, responsive and immediate. I predominately work with graphite and oil paint because of their versatility and technical range. Lately I have been longing to experiment with textiles, printmaking, and sound.

Visual artists who inform my work include Gao Xingjian, Marlene Dumas, Luc Tuymans, Wayne Thiebaud, and Matisse.

Jillian Evin