Jayne Cherry

My work deals with the identity of objects and of people, those living and those passed on into forgetting. I have been named a hedge watcher, a seeress, a translator of codes, custodian of secrets. I will share them with all when they are needed. I want to leave clues to help those who come after. Having been born into a large family on an organic farm in Northern Ireland I have been brought up with a deep respect for the ground we walk on and all who breath upon it. I can watch quietly for a long time. Farming without chemicals, rearing animals without medicine, using holistic practises were learnt from an early age. We all had to perform from an early age. It was expected from you.

Working closely with acceptance of pain, degeneration and death leads my work with the spiky, uncomfortable  and difficult subjects which can confront us all at some stage. We all perform. Automatic drawing and painting, textile investigation with natural elements and performance allow exchanges that result in touchable elements. These are then ‘stitched together’  too precipitate an outcome using skills which are old and new. Generations of performers in the fields and kitchens have taught me skills and dexterity as well as elements I call on to perform.

 Performance actions keep me attached to the realness of my existence by helping me to open closed areas  too expose raw, tender experiences that inform all my other sculptural work.

I need to perform.

IMAGE | JAYNE CHERRY | SOMATIC DISTORTION | 2019 | PHOTOGRAPHY JORDAN HUTCHINGS