JESS GLEAVE

Contemporary Artist

I am a contemporary artist from Blackburn, UK. I mainly focus on feminist issues. My studio practice develops from events generated from politics and current affairs; such as the #metoo movement. As a female in modern society I have suffered a man’s unwanted attention, so my biggest incentive is to create art in a way that expresses ‘no means no’.

I use bawdy humour, visual puns, taboo paintings and now in this exhibition, emotive portraits. My aim is to provoke the viewer to relate to the social and political differences women experience within their lives. Therefore challenging the audiences behaviours and those of others.

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Jess Gleave: Artists

What theme are you exploring in the piece/s you have exhibited?

In my series of paintings titled ‘The After Affect x3’ I am exploring the impact sexual assault has on women.

What are your inspirations behind the piece/s?

I has heavily influenced by the #metoo movement, seeing the tweets that victims had posted on twitter really moved me and I really wanted to demonstrate the fact that even years after the trauma it still leaves emotional bruising. The #metoo movement was created by Tarana Burke who wanted to spread a message for survivors that you have been heard and you are understood. Me too is about empowering women through empathy and strength in numbers. I personally know people that have been sexually assaulted and hearing them talk about their ordeal really hit a nerve with me.

I sat down with a family member and she told me all about her experience. She says, “No matter how strong a person you are, you can feel so powerless in that situation...I’ve never felt quite like the same person, less attractive, less feminine.” This quote was my main incentive, I wanted to get that message across in a visual way.

Which artists influence you and your work?

Tracey Emin was a real influence in this project. She openly talks about her harrowing experiences including being sexually assaulted. The fact that she speaks about her ordeals so publicly was a real eye opener because so many women keep it quiet in fear of being judged or even worse, not believed. Also the colour scheme Louise Bourgeois uses in her paintings really inspired my implement of reds and blues.

Which mediums have you used and why?

My exhibit consists of three large portraits of women painted in acrylic on bed sheets. I chose to paint on bed sheets due to the theme of my paintings being sexual assault. I enjoyed working on the bedsheets as the paint soaked into the fabric giving me an interesting textured finish, it was also a smooth material to work onto unlike some canvases. When painting I always sway towards acrylic paint as you can use it with or without water, it’s easy to move around and it doesn’t need a thinning agent or medium.

The vivid colours are mimicking bruising and internal physical emotion and pain. If this was painted on the faces of victim’s judges, jury's and everyday people would take sexual assault seriously. Consequently, women would feel like they can report and speak out about it, without fear of being made to feel as if they were on trial.

What impact do you want to make on the audience?

I want the audience to connect with the paintings emotionally and think about the impact sexual assault has on women. I want the viewer to realise sexual abuse happens more often than people think. Approximately 85,000 women (aged 16 - 59) experience rape, attempted rape or sexual assault by penetration in England and Wales alone every year.

Jess Gleave: Text