Interview

In 2007, she was Runner up in the painting category in the internationally respected Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize. In December 2009, Jillian was invited to exhibit in the prestigious Florence Biennale, Italy. As the only South Australian, she attended and exhibited her artwork, which was extremely well received. Jillian also has a love of Community; she enjoys teaching Art and Art 4 Wellbeing, to all ages and levels of experience. Jillian has a passion for community art projects as both an artist and arts industry worker. Since graduating, Jillian has had many exhibitions and commissions and her beautiful thought provoking artwork has become highly collectable. South Australia has been rewarded with Jillian’s incredible emergence onto the Art scene.

In 2016, Jillian completed an Advanced Diploma in Art Therapy at Ikon Institute, Adelaide. Since graduating, Jillian has been facilitating Art 4 Wellbeing workshops in Aged Care. Jillian’s art business, ‘With all my ART’ includes not only her award winning contemporary paintings; she offers her skills and experience in freelance gallery management, curating, tutoring and consultancy and her sought after, Art for Well-being workshops.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I was born and raised in the outback mining town, Broken Hill. It’s a wonderful place; it has magnificent intense light and a unique atmosphere. I always had a passion for art and I commenced children’s art class at the Broken Hill TAFE at the age of 10. I undertook drawing and oil painting classes as a young adult and have never put my artistic tools down. I started exhibiting my artwork as a teenager, my first sale going to the USA. Realising my hunger to formally study art, I relocated from Broken Hill to Adelaide in 1992.”

What inspires you?

“I am influenced by life. Many things influence me, colour, shape, line, etc. I think there is a fundamental beauty found in daily life. People, places, things, a moment in time, a memory, a shape or the way the light hits an object. It maybe ephemeral but it lingers in my soul. It could even be a comment from someone e.g. I have an emotional response to my daily life and create! The media influences me, hence the composition of many of the works, it reads like a page from a book, text is sometimes discovered in my work.
The written word influences me and the way text is composed on the page. Colour and shape influence me, colour of the land, sky and shapes of what you find in the urban street. Colour gives the work personal meaning, it is personally symbolic. Colour suggests the mood and is always determined by the subject. Being born and raised in the outback town of Broken Hill NSW Australia , the land is and will always be a really big influence on my life. The ever changing world, what I see around the city and suburbs. I also utilize aerial views in my landscapes and interiors as subject matter.
My major influence, where you can actually see evidence of it in my work is old advertising billboards, I absolutely adore them with a passion. I love the way the paper is lifting off and have glimpses of the history of went before it- the past is hidden and new fresh information is on the surface. I love the way they age. If there is paper lifting off from the artwork, it is supposed to, just like an old billboard. Exposing information, of what went before it, like history. Text and aesthetics of text are great influences to me. Text can also be discovered directly on the work on closer investigation in some of my artworks. The work can also be read like a story, it gives a sense of language or a code that some people feel the need to decipher.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“I am aware of the formal design and structure of the work which I believe is a culmination of my study in visual art and applied design. At times I work with a grid/ block which creates the formal feature with a contemporary style. Order versus chaos theory is a concept I work with and is represented by the orderly fashion of the squares or rectangle shapes. Every detail of the artwork is deliberate and relevant. As I have mentioned the structure of the composition of some of the works loosely represents pages of a book e.g. ‘A Day in a Life’ and ‘A Page out of my book.’ I certainly do not create art to suit decor, It is only by chance that the artwork is ‘fashionable,’ I believe the quality, nature and style of the artwork will exceed the current fashion trends.
The space surrounding the grid/block collage is extremely important- it represents isolation, introspection and awareness. The grid/ block appears to be suspended in space. The spatial relationship between one block/line to the next is also meaningful, it gives a sense of quiet, rest and then draws you back into the searching the collage again. A sense of movement comes from the interaction and the relationship to each ‘time line.’ The eye automatically wants to read the work from top left to right, like a book or newspaper, it has something to do with our physiology and human conditioning. The movement is expressed through the horizontal and suspension of layers. The movement comes from within the viewer, not directly from the painting- it is an automatic response, but I feel it is entertaining and makes you want to come back time and time again to look at it.
My current artwork are Australian themes- the rugged landscape, the unique flora and fauna, botanicals.”

How would you describe your work?

“I am in a good head space and am spiritually driven when I create. The textures are rich, the colours are inviting and many people are suggesting the artwork gives them a sense of peace, which is personally humbling. I am always assessing, layer after layer to achieve the desired effect. I love the aesthetics qualities/ texture of the layering. It is all about the layering- my personal history. I also love the texture/aesthetic of the collage. There is a depth (visually, intellectually and metaphysically). The layering of the collage in parts are rubbed back and fragments of collage are remaining, to represent there are remnants of time left behind, like a distant memory. It is about the past and present. It is a social/ cultural comment on ageing, history and time. In our society we are programmed to read from top left to bottom right. I have created the works to be read the same way and people are comfortable with it but they don’t usually realize why. It is a passive response to influence the viewers psyche. The work sometimes evokes emotional responses from the viewer as they retell their own story. The artwork stirs memories, it maybe the colour or texture of the composition. Uniformly, my work is about my personal history and a sense of time, created in a a contemporary style . Conceptually, I work in an instinctive and emotional way, which reflects ‘peace.’ I think this is what viewers respond to.”

Which artists influence you most?

“My students influence me the most. I teach art in 3 sites over 3 days in the Community Centres. Whatever you give, you get back. They offer a new way of seeing.”

What is your creative process like?

“This is a difficult question. No two works are the same. I use a variety of mediums, the medium I use is determined by the subject. In my current work I primarily use collage- magazine, newspaper, old artworks etc, acrylic, charcoal, conte, graphite and pastel. In my artwork titled ‘Natural Selection,’ I have utilised red and white wine, tea and coffee etc. This piece came runner up in the painting category in the Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize. Presently, I enjoy using mixed media on large stretched canvas. Some of the areas are rubbed back- some not, some parts of the surface are painted and drawn over many times, some sections are detailed and some are not. This is directly linked to the subject. This process is often quite a healing experience. I construct and destruct most of the time. Calculating every step of the way. It is a time consuming and a personally satisfying process. I am assessing layer after layer to achieve the desired effect. Sometimes I leave parts of the canvas exposed, this usually represents where I reveal where I personally feel exposed and vulnerable. The aesthetic that I am currently achieving took me 12 months of exploring and experimenting with media.
The subject always determining the medium including the surface/ support and the dimensions of the artwork. Sometimes I use MDF board, canvas, timber, linen or other times I have used water colour paper. I really do not want to locked into a specific surface or support. Currently I am using premium quality primed stretched canvas.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“I can speak on my behalf, my role in society as an artist. Within my business, with all my art, as a professional artist, art Teacher and an art therapist, I take on different creative roles - diversification is the key. I believe society will look at art in a more meaningful way - holistically; emotionally, physically, mentally, therapeutically etc.”

Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?

“Since gaining my Degree in Visual Art and Applied Design, I have exhibited extensively locally in Adelaide, interstate and twice overseas. My most noteworthy exhibitions are: Waterhouse Natural Science Exhibition – Adelaide SA Australia (2007); Florence Biennale, Italy (2009) and Art in Mind Bricklane Gallery, London (2023).”

Jillian Cheshire