Still life - Jacqueline Hennessy

19 March 2021 - 25 July 2021

Still life
Jaqueline Hennessy

In 2020, Sydney-based artist Jacqueline Hennessy spent time in the Gallery’s Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio to develop new work for her solo exhibition Still life. Hennessy completed a Masters of Fine Art (MFA) at the National Art School in 2019 and is the inaugural recipient of the Tweed Regional Gallery – National Art School MFA Residency Award.

Referencing images of her own body, Hennessy’s paintings seek to give visual form to the experience of self in a world led by the gaze. Her ghostly female figures seemingly emerge as they dissolve into the linen support, signifying the paradox of being both the invisible subject evading the gaze and the visible body object captured by it.

Visiting the Gallery for the first time in August 2020, Hennessy connected with the re-creation of Olley’s home studio as a gloriously rich self-portrait.

“I was struck by how strongly Margaret’s sense of self, or my perception of it, permeated the collection of objects in her re-created home studio. The spectre of Margaret is palpable, being conjured by or infused in the objects that she left behind. This play between the invisible and visible in creating a sense of some part of Margaret’s unique essence, resonates strongly with my work and conceptual concerns. I knew immediately that I wanted to create a series of figurative works referencing images of both my body and Margaret’s personal objects.”

Jacqueline Hennessy

Jaqueline Hennessy is represented by Jan Murphy Gallery Brisbane.

This exhibition is an outcome of Tweed Regional Gallery – National Art School (NAS) MFA Residency Award. The collaboration aims to showcase emerging artists in recognition of Margaret Olley, a NAS alumnus.