Artist Statement 2024

Coming together for ritual to create pre-political spaces has been central to my community-scripted multi-screen environment performances: a boat for the low-lying Pacific Islands (Mayday-2006), a train-carriage in coalmining-country for Cementa_2015, and a five-township co-organised roving corroboree (2019). Since this time I have been combining a greater range of knowledges and practices such as working with my Qigong group and patterns described by physics, as well as more situation-specific information related to the natural and damaged environment: manuka honey trees under threat from logging in our national parks and the dieback impacted trees in Willoughby Council. My moving image works, objects and installations now aim for greater mainstream appeal to work within established alliances and policy campaigns, trying to channel ‘The Vibe’ of “The Castle” whilst animating David Graeber’s ‘we are the 99%’.

Artist Bio

Exhibiting work in 13 countries, Dr Jenny Brown’s screenings include festivals at the New York Film Anthologies (2017/2020), Florianópolis, Brazil (2017) and New Delhi, India (2007). The Australia-China Council and DAAD awarded her creative practice scholarships, and further research programmes have been undertaken in Kiev, Brisbane and Santiago, Chile. Brown contributed to the book Ecoart in Action (2022), An Ecotopian Lexicon (2019) and Artlink (2016) discuss her ‘solastalgia’ series, and the Americans for the Arts Climate Crisis Arts Link Issue (2022) present one of her tapestries. Following an Australian Postgraduate Award, Jenny gave presentations at the CAA conference artist panel, Los Angeles (2010) and the Geneva University of Art and Design (2012), and in 2017 received her doctorate from the University of Sydney. In 2021 and 2022 Jenny presented commissioned work for the Liveworks Festival at Performance Space Sydney, following participation in the film & philosophy masterclass held by the Konrad Wolf Film University, Potsdam.

Website: http://jennybrownjenny.com

  • Halley’s Sky News: alienation, law & the environment
  • Tied, mayday 2006

  • Dressed as a “silky-blue” bower bird, Bob
    Brown Foundation native forest rally March 2024