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PAINTING AT NIGHT Jen McGowan, "Cheerios Mouth"
McGowan_Jen_2.jpg Image 1 of
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Jen McGowan, "Cheerios Mouth"

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$350. Digital Photography, 12x12”, framed, 2020.

Price does not include shipping. Contact info@collarworks.org for a shipping estimate.

Artist Statement

My current work wrestles with the impossible contradictions within idealized motherhood. Through the constraints of the pandemic, the problematic disconnect between my feminist art school education and the way I perceive and enact motherhood became evident. While dealing with a global crisis, I was appalled to notice I only felt like a good mother when I performed 1950s domestic tasks like vacuuming the stairs. I interrogate and attempt to resolve this cognitive dissonance through my work. In the performative self-portrait series MILF MOUTH MADNESS, clichéd sexy red lips are stuffed with domestic objects and food – where neither sexual nor maternal identity has agency as they push up against each other. I have come to realize that these limiting expectations of what a mother is don’t just stem from my family history, but are learned and have been internalized from the patriarchal society I was raised in. I am both wrestling with these contradictions and calling them out through my work.

Artist Bio

Jen McGowan is coming back to her art practice after having and raising young children. She graduated from Concordia University in Montreal in the late 90s and after getting her BEd at UBC, has been teaching Art, Film and Animation in a high school for the last 10 years. Though motherhood asks so much, contending with its inherent contradictions drives her to make art whenever and however she can. Throughout the Pandemic the pressures on mothers (primarily) have increased exponentially, and art has been a way for her to stay resilient and connect with the world outside the family bubble. She has been uplifted and inspired by the many mother/artists using their voice at this time to represent an authentic view of motherhood and the family. The bravery of the work being shown has allowed her to take risks with exposing her own, often difficult experience of motherhood. Currently, she uses drawing, painting, photography, collage and whatever materials she has on hand to explore her new(ish) identity through a feminist lens. Her work has been included in shows throughout Canada and Internationally. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her spouse, two children and an ornery cat.

Add To Cart

$350. Digital Photography, 12x12”, framed, 2020.

Price does not include shipping. Contact info@collarworks.org for a shipping estimate.

Artist Statement

My current work wrestles with the impossible contradictions within idealized motherhood. Through the constraints of the pandemic, the problematic disconnect between my feminist art school education and the way I perceive and enact motherhood became evident. While dealing with a global crisis, I was appalled to notice I only felt like a good mother when I performed 1950s domestic tasks like vacuuming the stairs. I interrogate and attempt to resolve this cognitive dissonance through my work. In the performative self-portrait series MILF MOUTH MADNESS, clichéd sexy red lips are stuffed with domestic objects and food – where neither sexual nor maternal identity has agency as they push up against each other. I have come to realize that these limiting expectations of what a mother is don’t just stem from my family history, but are learned and have been internalized from the patriarchal society I was raised in. I am both wrestling with these contradictions and calling them out through my work.

Artist Bio

Jen McGowan is coming back to her art practice after having and raising young children. She graduated from Concordia University in Montreal in the late 90s and after getting her BEd at UBC, has been teaching Art, Film and Animation in a high school for the last 10 years. Though motherhood asks so much, contending with its inherent contradictions drives her to make art whenever and however she can. Throughout the Pandemic the pressures on mothers (primarily) have increased exponentially, and art has been a way for her to stay resilient and connect with the world outside the family bubble. She has been uplifted and inspired by the many mother/artists using their voice at this time to represent an authentic view of motherhood and the family. The bravery of the work being shown has allowed her to take risks with exposing her own, often difficult experience of motherhood. Currently, she uses drawing, painting, photography, collage and whatever materials she has on hand to explore her new(ish) identity through a feminist lens. Her work has been included in shows throughout Canada and Internationally. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her spouse, two children and an ornery cat.

$350. Digital Photography, 12x12”, framed, 2020.

Price does not include shipping. Contact info@collarworks.org for a shipping estimate.

Artist Statement

My current work wrestles with the impossible contradictions within idealized motherhood. Through the constraints of the pandemic, the problematic disconnect between my feminist art school education and the way I perceive and enact motherhood became evident. While dealing with a global crisis, I was appalled to notice I only felt like a good mother when I performed 1950s domestic tasks like vacuuming the stairs. I interrogate and attempt to resolve this cognitive dissonance through my work. In the performative self-portrait series MILF MOUTH MADNESS, clichéd sexy red lips are stuffed with domestic objects and food – where neither sexual nor maternal identity has agency as they push up against each other. I have come to realize that these limiting expectations of what a mother is don’t just stem from my family history, but are learned and have been internalized from the patriarchal society I was raised in. I am both wrestling with these contradictions and calling them out through my work.

Artist Bio

Jen McGowan is coming back to her art practice after having and raising young children. She graduated from Concordia University in Montreal in the late 90s and after getting her BEd at UBC, has been teaching Art, Film and Animation in a high school for the last 10 years. Though motherhood asks so much, contending with its inherent contradictions drives her to make art whenever and however she can. Throughout the Pandemic the pressures on mothers (primarily) have increased exponentially, and art has been a way for her to stay resilient and connect with the world outside the family bubble. She has been uplifted and inspired by the many mother/artists using their voice at this time to represent an authentic view of motherhood and the family. The bravery of the work being shown has allowed her to take risks with exposing her own, often difficult experience of motherhood. Currently, she uses drawing, painting, photography, collage and whatever materials she has on hand to explore her new(ish) identity through a feminist lens. Her work has been included in shows throughout Canada and Internationally. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her spouse, two children and an ornery cat.

COLLAR WORKS IS A NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATION FROM TROY, NY, SUPPORTING EMERGING AND UNDERREPRESENTED ARTISTS MAKING CHALLENGING AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT WORK.

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