About my work
At the edge between scrutiny and speculation, I allow myself to believe that creatures or insects are aware of my gaze, as I am aware of theirs and that there is reciprocity. I am involved with environmental themes and issues of nature. In my research small organisms that I encounter from the visual natural world, from enlarged scanned images and electron microscopy (such as dragonflies, diatoms and other micro-organisms) are transformed into art works through the use of computer-controlled technology, such as water jet cutting of aluminum or laser engraved acrylic plexiglass or handmade paper. My images have been enlarged and permanently dye-bonded to aluminum panels, fixed to exterior public walls. Other works have been waterjet cut from aluminum and mounted on spinning bases.
I consult with technical experts. At various phases of making, I intervene within the digital process to include handmade aspects to each work, such as cracking sheets of glass with a hammer or hammering metal into 3-D curves. I have created complex sculptures of dragonfly wings derived from an actual scanned wing, enlarged to 3-4 meters in size. Tiny, even microscopic, details from the natural world serve as catalysts for reflection and generators of creative research that respond to current ecological predicaments. My current work is aligned with the concept of micropolitics: small gestures of care can make a difference.
The initial drive to create these works comes from cultivating a sense of intimacy with details from the more-than-human world. With insects, plants and animals I stretch the practice of close observation to attain a meaningful encounter with the living subjects. Such encounters feel significant in their timing and I feel privileged to participate in these charged moments.
I have experimented with several ways of making art, from sculpture, video, drawing, painting and public art.
BioGRAPHY
Jennifer Macklem creates sculpture, paintings, public art, installations, drawings and has played with video and performance. With a national and international exhibition record, her artistic practice is experimental in nature. She has presented her work at artist-run centers, university galleries and museums. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris and at the Parsons School of Design. She earned an MFA at the Université du Quebec à Montreal.
Originally from Montreal, Jennifer Macklem is an Associate Professor of Sculpture at the University of Ottawa, following a tenured position at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick. During the mid 1990’s she served as coordinator/Director/Curator of the Alternator Gallery for Contemporary Art, based in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Exhibitions include: Imago Mundi, Onsite Gallery, Toronto and Palazzo Loredan, Venice ( Benetton Collection); Galerie Eric Devlin, Montreal (solo); The Jaipur Kala Chaupal at Jaipur Kala Kendra, India; The Art Gallery of Outremont (solo), Montreal; Salle Alfred Pellan, Laval, Quebec (solo) ; St Margaret’s House Chapel Cinema Space, London, UK; University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Ontario; Galerie d’art de l’UQAM; The Beaverbrook Provincial Art Gallery, New Brunswick; The Kelowna Art Gallery (solo); White Box Gallery, New York City; Point B,Brooklyn; Roosevelt University, Chicago; The String Room Gallery at Wells College, NY; Centre d’Art Actuel Circa, Montreal (solo); Galway Centre for the Arts, Ireland; Centre for Art Tapes, Halifax; Access Gallery, Vancouver (solo); The Musée Nationale du Quebec, Quebec City; Gallery Ernst Higler, Vienna (solo)
Reviews of her work have been published in the Journal of Canadian Art History, Vie des Arts, Espace, Guerilla Art, Front cover: Etcetera and Le Devoir, Montreal.