Jess Thompson

'Eva' Acrylic paint on canvas paper A3 Won the Young Archibald Prize 2017, 13-15 age group. ~ Edit: Thank you all so much for the love and support. It means the world. ❤️

‘Ruptured Between’ 2025. recycled metal sheets (roofing and otherwise), pipes, paint, gelatine. 130 x 145 cm 'Ruptured Between’ follows pathways generated through failing to embody normative standards of friendship. Navigating the wounds, ruptures and familiar frictions that arise from enduring the proximity and unpredictability of making queer bonds. I wish to reorient discomfort through navigating the hope, pleasure and inconvenience of forms of intimacy that accept disappointment as integral to connection - not the undoing of it. This work draws from Heather Love’s book ‘Feeling Backwards’ which critiques queer theory as overly emphasising the “reassuring qualities of friendship over uneasiness” that is positioned “strangely free of the wounds...that arguably provide these structures their binding power.” (Love, 2007) This work exposes the hidden infrastructure of pipes as a metaphor for the rigid system of normativity, deconstructing these pipes renders them “non-functional.” Rather than aim for repair, allowing these pipes to rupture facilitates the creation of new pathways that reconceptualise ideas of failure. Invaluable guidance from @jack__ball_ in Sculpture 3 class and gorgeous install pictures from @t0ni__t thank you x Painting of my lovely friends @777monisha and @mei_yers 🤍

Texturess - work in progress pieces

‘Pressure (disconnecting)', 2022, unglazed and handmade glazes on ceramics, gelatin, shattered pipes, kitchen, variable dimension ~ This work aims to challenge gendered division of labour and domestic power hierarchies that impact who we are told deserves care in the household. This work focuses on structural 'heaving.’ Which refers to the process of a building pushing against its foundation due to underlying disturbance. Rot begins at the core and spreads - untreated it can lead to collapse. This concept inspired me to think through the way disconnected domestic, rusting pipes could be used as a metaphor for pushing against the rigid mechanisms which underpin gendered power dynamics in the household. By revealing and deconstructing this infrastructure I am weakening it, rendering certain parts non -functional. Thank you to @ramesh__mario for the help navigating this piece! ✨🤍

Open night tonight!! ✨ Please come along for free drinks and snacks 6-8pm, 32 Belmore Road Randwick!! 💞

“Unmould” ~ This work speaks to my experience of resisting the mould in which I feel expected to squeeze within as a woman. These works originated out of grappling with feelings of inadequacy arising from striving to occupy space in a contrived way. Gelatinous remnants of femininity collide with grasping hands. A messy celebration of intimacy. The panels obscure a mushroom spore print, a concealed queerness, as mushrooms can reproduce by fragmenting themselves. This work is regenerative; a step towards releasing myself. ~ Acrylic paint on recycled plastic offcuts, overlaid over painted unstretched canvas.

‘Consumed,’ acrylic paint of canvas 76 x 61 cm, 2021-2022

‘Consumed,’ acrylic paint of canvas 76 x 61 cm, 2021-2022

More pictures from the exhibition night, our first time curating an exhibition. Loved working with @moni_.sha @mei_yers 😌 Click the link in bio to see all the pictures of the 18 incredible artists works on the night! Fuck the Hegemony: An Intersectional Manifesto

Here’s the other figure painting :) - Sold

Here’s one of a couple figure studies/experimentations I’ve created for uni :) ~ A2 acrylic paint on canvas paper, Available

‘Flourish’ ~ A2 acrylic paint on wood, SOLD ~ Painting I created based on a foraged collection of natural materials I gathered while bushwalking with the aim to explore natural textures. The other piece at the end is a simplified/reduced version of the composition.