Jennie Johnston
fabric artist
Artist Statement
As a needle moves through fabric a rhythm is created. That rhythm is the foundation for my work. I build artworks using skills that were once denigrated as lesser than fine art. Embroidery, quilting and stitch are layered with paint and photo transfer techniques to create intimate stories full of detail.
My subject matter studies the human condition in relation to nature, social justice and ancestry. There are also references to folklore, myth and spirit. The quilt medium carries a message from the past while offering a current perspective on the world today.
Biography
Jennie grew up on a farm in rural Quebec and has a Fine Arts Degree from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick.
Working in textile based mixed media, Jennie uses repurposed cloth and contemporary fabrics to create works layered with stitch, photo transfer and paint. Combining personal imagery from birds to labyrinths, with various colour palettes and stitched textures, these quilts remain fundamental objects of craft despite losing their functionality.
Her work has been displayed in solo and group exhibits in British Columbia, Ontario, the U.S, and Italy. She also contributes to social activist art projects from all over the world including Australia and Mexico.
Jennie has also worked with community members through artist residencies, and community art calls, to expand knowledge about quilting & textiles and unpaid labour.
She lives with her husband and two sons on Burnaby Mountain and her studio is located in Braid St. Studios in New Westminster which are both located on the unceded Traditional Coast Salish Lands of the Tsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ), Kwikwetlem (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm), Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw) and Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Nations..
