Jaq Chase

Jaq Chase Art

Sat on the balcony of the Oxford Union in 1958, listening to Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. A packed house. Overwhelmingly male. She is not the centre of attention, despite her elaborate gown. She will not join the debate, nor ask a question; she’s just along for the ride. A silent spectator. Bored, decorative, mute.

'Silent Disco 1958'

Oil on Canvas

100cmx150cm (2020)

'Self Raising'

Installation Proposal

(2021)

A fully laden table of party food sits at the far end of the room. It's the family table that I set for over twenty five years as I raised my four kids. A large fan is fitted in the glass at the opposite end of the room. It is attached to an erg (rowing machine) on the outside of the room. The viewer is invited to sit on the erg. Instructions will be delivered on the screen in front of the viewer, detailing correct rowing technique. As the rower begins to row, the large fan is activated which disperses the large mound of flour in front of it. (20.25kg = 90 birthday cakes) The flour rises and ruins the food laid out on the party table. This is the only interaction with the party food available to the viewer.

Beyond the glass room, paintings, photography and film clips are arranged on the wall. The viewer can choose to bypass the rowing element and engage with the art. To view the art, the viewer must have their back to the glass wall. The installation allows for a multi-layered approach that uses collage across media as a way of building narrative about the work.

Other than the noise of the fan, the installation is silent, and no flour escapes the room.

Proposal for Installation

The table in the plan is laid with a colourful and abundant spread of party food- ideal for a children’s birthday party. It is festive, appealing and inaccessible.

The approximate size of the central installation room is 8’x16’. There would then be space for a walkway around the ‘glass’ room.

‘I paint with my back to the world’, Agnes Martin

Work will not be seen in real life. This is a digitally compressed version of art that you sit at a table to experience. You don't have to leave the house and the artwork need not exist. Even if it manages to break free of the confines of the digital and become a thing- that thing will be represented back in the digital space. No need to get up or get close, to stand back or walk away... just zoom, scroll, click & hover.....And in this other world, this compressed world- the work keeps on expanding, the studio is irrelevant, people become materials and they become other too but still remain themselves - my daughters.

'Raising Agents'

Oil on canvas with acetate collage and photographic overlay

172cm x 290cm

(2021)

During my time at The Ruskin, rowing has replaced motherhood as an enormous drain on my time and energy. What began as a playful experiment to challenge ideas of belonging, became a serious campaign that ended by competing in Oxford University Summer Eights as part the women's second team for Chist Church College. It has been an amazing experience but it's also the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Sometimes I thought this was because of my age (56), but everyone in that team struggled to meet the demands of competing as well feeling a huge responsibility to the team. No matter how challenging motherhood can be, the lack of an 'opt out' button means that you just get on with it - good days and bad. In rowing, I had to take the 'opt out' option out of the equation, as knowing that I could leave at anytime, made the difficult days unbearable. Making a firm decision to see it through was the only way to avoid constant self doubt and focus on the only thing that matters- making the boat go faster..

'The Tank'

Double exposed photograph

59.4cm x 84cm

(2021)

In rowing, ‘empty rate’ refers to hitting an impressive rate or speed but having no power behind the stroke, so the wheels spin and you wear yourself out…but you don’t go anywhere!

'Empty Rate'

Photographic Collage

594mm x420mm

(2021)

‘Body Con’
Oil on Canvas & acetate collage
120cm x 150cm (2021)

‘Free Returns’
Oil on Canvas

120 x 150cm (2021)

‘High to Low’
Oil on Canvas
120 cm x !50 cm (2021)

'Reduced’
Oil on Canvas 100cm x 120cm (2021)

http://www.jaqchase.com

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j.chase@live.com