Statement + Résumé - Jordyne Vanselow

Jordyne Vanselow

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Artist Statement

Whether independently or simultaneously, sensations are experienced both visually and physically. When I encounter a decaying pinecone, I instantly see the shapes interacting that form its structure, then I proceed to engage with it physically by picking it up and holding onto it. While experiencing the different movements of the body while sleeping, a desire emerges to conduct a visual investigation of this physical sensation. Whether it is through drawings on paper, video installation, or performance, my work persistently attempts to engage the isolation and interaction of these sensations.

“We measure the world with our bodies.” These words from my mentor have held a constant weight within my practice, as I have come to define drawing simply as a process of mapping – an act that simultaneously outlines and navigates through merged layers of information. By establishing a system or structure to inform the process, drawing becomes an open-ended response, mapping the processes of thinking and seeing. Drawings exist as a site for this mapping to occur through routine movements, expanding the boundaries of drawing to include performance and video installation as the body becomes a navigation tool influencing either the subject matter or the byproduct of the work. Inherently present is a physicality of mark-making, retaining a heavy emphasis on the body as it interacts with the drawing being created; the drawing itself can be seen as a documentation of the artist’s bodily movements revealing a systematic process through a depiction of repeated movements or aggressive marks abrading the surface.

Often, I initiate a new body of work by designing a system in which the work will evolve. I then begin an obsessively repetitive process, working on several pieces at a time, allowing the works to inform each other and develop together, as I note and map various interactions. These interactions consist of overlapping shapes, the body related to its environment, and even interactions brought about from engaging in collaborative or interdisciplinary works. These interactions often exude an awkwardness or ambiguity through a nuanced sense of depth creating energy as the points of interaction become less clear between the layers in a similar way that different mediums are interwoven throughout my work.