Artist draws upon feminine pursuits
IN conjunction with the Rochdale Literature and Ideas Festival, on Thursday, October 19, from 8pm to 9pm at Touchstones, renowned artist Jessica Rankin will talk about her work and writers Amy Key, Sarah Howe and Brenda Shaughnessy will give their own poetic response.
Visual artist Jessica’s exhibition features a series of new drawings, paintings and embroideries inspired by the Parthenon Sculptures at the British Museum and the broader themes of female intimacy, mother and daughter relationships and mythology
Amy’s poems have appeared in The Poetry Review, Poetry Wales and Poetry magazine. Her debut collection, Luxe, was published by Salt in 2013.
Sarah is a Hong Kong-born poet and editor. Her first collection of poems, Loop of Jade, was published by Chatto & Windus in 2015.
Meanwhile, Brenda is a winner of the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Yale Review, the Boston Review and Best American Poetry.
Stone/Folding will be exhibited in Gallery Four from October 21 to December.
Appropriating methods such as embroidery and needlework, New York-based artist Jessica’s work often takes the form of embroidered paintings.
Having learned to sew as a child in Australia, Jessica returned to embroidery after graduating from art school in the USA.
Combining text and image, her embroideries resemble mental maps (or ‘brainscapes’ as she often refers to them), working through recollections, impressions of places and immediate experience.
This new series of drawings and embroideries is inspired by one of the Parthenon Sculptures at the British Museum, believed to be the Greek goddess Aphrodite and her mother Dione.
From this starting point, the work expands to explore a range of seemingly disparate, yet interwoven, subjects from the complex relationships between mothers and daughters and the constellations in the night sky, to the British Empire, Brexit and the refugee crisis.
Echoing the importance of language in her practice, Jessica invited the critically acclaimed poets Amy, Sarah and Brenda to explore and connect with both her work and the same Parthenon Sculpture. Their words will form part of the exhibition display as well as being an integral part of the live event.
Tickets for the live event cost £5, book online at rochdaleliterature festival.co.uk or in person at the festival box office at Touchstones, open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm.