In May 2006 Esther Jervis, currently studying for an MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, took part in an exhibition at London's Bearspace Gallery entitled 'Phantom'. A series of photographs depicted men in city suits incongruously wearing animal heads. In each portrait Jervis's subjects were caught on camera like animals stunned by a car's headlights. Meanwhile, the urban environment surrounding each figure blurred past in a zooming frenzy. This series of photographs is typical of Jervis's interest in transforming the everyday into something out of the ordinary, in order to provoke the viewer into re-thinking his relationship to the environment and to the character depicted in the artwork.
Jervis also makes sculptural work which explores similar themes. Strange creatures which draw on the craft aesthetic and allude to fables and mythology. These playful, witty hybrids, such as Pig Girl, which is made out of plaster, wire and fabric, explore ideas of storytelling, deliberately leaving space for the viewer's imagination to work. As Jervis says, she tries to make work 'which looks at creating a mythological character and trying to appropriate a history for it'.
Esther Jervis, whose first degree was in Fine Art and Art History at Goldsmiths College, London, is a member of Sparks, a partnership of designers and artists working together on commissioned and self-initiated projects. Each of the nine partners brings a singular perspective and knowledge to form a comprehensive resource for a variety of media including film, photography, sound, painting and graphic design. Sparks have worked on projects for numerous clients including Artisan, Christian Aid, Volvo, Coca Cola and Diesel.
Esther Jervis will be showing her work at the Barge House in London in January 2007, and at Passage du Desir in Paris in April 2008.
To see more of Esther Jervis's work on Your Gallery click here.
Pig Girl (2006)
Ralph (2005)
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