It Won't Last Forever
Gillian Jason Gallery
9 days left
With a focus on capturing contemporary culture and an exploration into the shared human experience, Jess Cochrane's figurative works create a thematic thread of consumerism, pop culture, and fashion. The compositions often involve multiple subjects, weaving together a story influenced by Impressionist gathering scenes.
'It Won't Last Forever' draws inspiration from Cézanne's bathers and references Australian female painter Grace Cossington Smith, adding layers of historical and cultural context to her exploration of contemporary themes.
Cochrane addresses the imperfections of modern technology in her paintings. By intentionally including the distortions caused by phone cameras, she makes a subtle nod to the flaws of technology and how it affects our perception of reality. In many of her figurative scenes, phones are present, serving as a double-edged sword. They capture special moments but also distract from the present.
With her still life compositions, featuring mainly Moroccan souvenirs, Cochrane further explores the idea of digital consumption, examining the gluttony of taking excessive photos. Such images are intentionally over-thought and composed, mimicking the square format of Instagram to create a sense of stiffness in comparison to the spontaneous moments captured in her other works.
About the Artist
London-based Australian artist Jess Cochrane produces figurative oil paintings that depict scenes from the everyday with a focus on the mundane and familiar. Portraying scenes that are universally recognised or experienced, Cochrane creates a thematic thread of consumerism, pop culture and fashion that runs through the artworks, drawing on shared memories and recent history, particularly reflecting on the resurgence of the early 2000s.
