General Introduction.  For a shorter overview, please read my Artist's Statement.

The relationship between the spiritual and material realm interests me.   Though I like playing with concepts, I see my own art primarily as a spiritual and emotional  activity.  It's a continual process of exploration.  Though my work is thoughtful, and some pieces do express a kind of logic, I am not interested in constucting a rigid framework of ideas around my creative process; the work itself is the main signifier....an articulation of fragmentary experience.  However,  I do see certain strands of meaning and emphasis emerging as I progress in my artistic practice, and enjoy expressing this in writing, often through poetic expression.  

In the past I have worked intensively (2006 - 2008) with digital photography,  and my work with metal, poetry, paint, and other media, related to, and was often intergrated with, photography. During 2008 I continued to experiment in various ways with  relationships between different media.  From 2009 onwards I started devoting more time to the development of my painting and drawing, as the greater powers of expression offered were too attractive to resist. 

A large amount of my work has been concerned with an exploration of different surfaces and layers.   This probably stems from my belief that life itself can be experienced either on a very superficial, purely materialistic level, or on a deeper spiritual level.  I also see the human being as wondrously deep and vulnerable, but caught behind self-defensive mechanisms and  exterior hardness.  I am  interested in the need  for personal significance, the experiences of grief and pain, as well as the joy of faith and life.  My own Christian faith underpins my artistic practice and provides inspiration.  

The brokeness of human experience fascinates me, as well as the potential  for growth and renewal.  I like the idea of strength and vulnerability combined. Constructive human activities, alongside  decay and decline interest me. The transitory nature of human life, and the possibility of eternity beyond it, is a theme I often revisit. My work has many different strands, and I enjoy this diversity. I have no desire to restrict my work to any particular style or subject matter in an artificial way, but view it as a natural and evolving process. 

Jenny Meehan  2010

Some background information

In the past I have worked in a variety of different roles in the public sector.  I  gained a BA Honours in Literature at Kingston University, Surrey in 1994, and a PGCE at Roehampton Institute in 1995. I taught in several schools before getting married and having children.  Towards the end of 2005, I decided to make it my aim to develop my dormant creative talent. My roles as an artist, mother, and homemaker bring many challenges.   

I hope you enjoy looking at some of my work.  I like to create a place of contemplation and sometimes challenge.  I need funding to develop my practice - most particularly, to cover the cost of further training -  and also to enable me to exhibit my work further, so let me know if you want to contribute in this way.  

A good place to look for a quick overview of my work is the  "Projects Page."  If you have more time then just select the area you are interested in using the menu on the left.

If you are interested in purchasing digital C-prints of my photographic work, please visit the Photography page first, for information about Numbered Editions. 

Videos of photographic work and painting can be found in the Solo Exhibitions page.

At the Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey

Here I am with Cliff Vanstone, Manager of Selling Services for John Lewis Partnership in Kingston.  We are standing in front of "John Lewis Partnership Foundations 1987" which has been purchased by the company.  It's currently hung in the Management Suite of the Kingston Branch.  

To find out more about this  work see the Featured Work section.

Jenny Meehan at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, with "Don't Bank On It" (top right)  which was exhibited as part of the St Wilfrid's Hospice/Pallant House Open Art Competition 2010.