Jasmine Targett
Biography, June 2014
I suffer from what 17th-century English
philosopher Francis Bacon called ‘a
mystified incomprehension that science alone cannot cure.’
My
interdisciplinary arts practice aims to visually and conceptually investigate
the ‘blind spots’ in perception surrounding nature and existence. Exploring the
tension between awareness and visibility, my work brings into focus the unseen
and overlooked. My latest
installation project, Blind Spot, has been a daring attempt to map out a
large three-dimensional hole in space. Finding a means to visually and
conceptually fathom otherwise unperceivable aspects of nature, the work aims to
delineate the blind spot in perception that fails to make the connection
between existence and the systems within nature that support it.
Within my arts practice I reinterpret
traditional craft based materials and techniques, working with new technologies
to find innovative ways to respond to the themes the work addresses. Observing
nature filtered through imagery from NASA’s Earth Observing Satellite Data
Centre, Earth’s life support systems become visible. This expanded perspective
offers a techno-romantic glimpse existence.
Earlier in 2014 I was awarded the Senini
Prize at McClelland Gallery, for my installation What the Eyes Do
Not See. In 2013 I was invited to exhibit in Wonderland – New
Contemporary Art from Australia at the Museum of Contemporary Art in
Taipei and awarded my second Arts Project Grant from the City of Melbourne.
I have previously been awarded the Latrobe Regional Gallery Acquisitive
Contemporary Art Prize. My work is held in public and private collections in
Australia, Asia and America.
‘It’s hard to imagine a more opportune moment for ‘making sense’ of environmental issues, which clearly present us all – scientists and non-scientists alike – with a huge challenge... Jasmine Targett’s works bridge a crucial gap, presenting complex, disturbing data in lucid, evocative, even surprisingly beautiful form.’
– Professor John Gregory, Monash University.
‘Jasmine Targett’s history as an artist and researcher can be defined by her unique ability to engage with issues that are relevant on a micro and macro level, to the individual, to the society and to our culture.’
- George Aslanis, Head of Glass Department, Monash University.
– Professor John Gregory, Monash University.
‘Jasmine Targett’s history as an artist and researcher can be defined by her unique ability to engage with issues that are relevant on a micro and macro level, to the individual, to the society and to our culture.’
