Jennifer Long

Jennifer Long

Jennifer Long

Toronto

Canada

My practice is propelled by an interest in the varied experiences of girls and women, and the limited ways in which they are represented within image making. Through a Feminist lens, I work with constructed narratives that are inspired by the quiet moments in girls and women’s lives where seemingly nothing (and everything) occurs. I am especially interested in the complex emotions that underlie these mundane points in time. Themes of vulnerability, transformation, and discovery are explored in my image making through the use of touch, gesture, and the gaze as I observe conscious and unconscious modes of communication. Over the past decade, my art practice has focused on the early stages of motherhood and pregnancy as I navigated this new terrain in my personal life. My current series, ‘Caesura’, developed out of my observations of the struggle my daughters grapple with as they find a balance between their dependence on me and their growing independence. This series re-constructs and intertwines various remembrances, making visual the experience of seeing myself reflected in my daughters’ gestures and actions. At the forefront of this project is the need to make space for my ever-changing outlook of being a mother and an artist.