Artists Profile: Jodie Whalen

Artbank Artist Profile

Jodie Whalen  

Artbank is excited to announce a new acquisition by Sydney based multidisciplinary artist Jodie Whalen. Artbank recently invited Jodie in for a socially distanced chat about the acquisition of her work 'Sky Chamber I' and what it means as to be part of the Artbank Collection. It felt more important than ever to connect with artists inside the Artbank Collection and hear about the artists they admire, that excite them, that make them smile and that drive them to make work. 

"Artbank acquired my work a few months back, in 2020, which I have to say came at an excellent time. Like a lot of people 2020 has thrown a lot of set backs, postponements and cancelations and I found myself really not knowing what was coming next or what was coming up. So to have Artbank purchase this work was a nice grounding experience and it gave me some confidence to keep working."

Jodie Whalen

Working across experimental performance, installation video and photomedia, Whalen's work excavates the everyday, appropriating her own personal history and popular Western culture into symbolically dense immersive environments that encourage inward reflection for viewers. She draws on the concept of ritual as a signifier of the art making process and creates spaces that engage viewers in an all encompassing, multisensory cocoon. 

'Sky Chamber I' was part of a larger installation in the Create NSW Visual Arts Emerging Fellowship at Artspace, Sydney, which incorporated collage, video and aromatic scents to create a space for the contemplation of Love. The work was also selected as a finalist for the Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award 2019. This work will be available through Artbank's leasing program soon!

Thanks Jodie for coming in and sharing your story with us!