Jen Mann

Home: Mississauga, Ontario
Title: Self portrait as a Reflection
Media: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 152.4 x 152.4 cm
Website: www.jenmann.com

Artist Statement

“Self Portrait as a Reflection” is part of a body of work titled “Q&A”, which explores identity, self, and our understanding of others. The portrait itself is a look at the artist becoming a reflection of the viewer. The work deals with existential issues, specifically what makes something good or bad, who am I to you, and are we not the same thing inside. The painting from a distance looks hyper realistic, and in a sense it is, this realness is dealing with ideas of ‘what is reality’. When we look up close the painterly lines emerge and the piece looks more abstract, as the tinfoil devolves into geometric shapes. The portrait looks at the abstract but real nature of existence, dealing with self and how we are viewed and understood by others and ourselves.

Biography

Jen Mann (b 1987) grew up in Mississauga Ontario, and attended OCAD U in Toronto and received her BFA for Printmaking in 2009, since then, she has done nothing but paint. Mann’s work is very introspective and the body of work “Q&A” consists of self-portraits and portraits of close friends to document a search for self and otherness in those we surround ourselves by. Her work has always followed the exploration of relationships, self, and existence, and is continuing along this path in her new work, which searches through our memories while looking at how we create identity.