Artist of the Month: January with E. Jane

E. Jane is a conceptual artist based in Philadelphia (USA), whose practice spans from digital media, performance, installation, all the way through to being a sonic producer. The main mode of dissemination for E. Jane comes through the use of cyberspace, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube. The crux of her practice focuses on “safety and futurity,” as oppose the bog-standard art world repetition of identity and representation. To quote her elegant words on her practice: “I am not grappling with notions of identity and representation in my art. I’m grappling with safety and futurity. We are beyond asking should we be in the room. We are in the room. We are also dying at a rapid pace and need a sustainable future” (http://e-janestudio.tumblr.com).

E. Jane’s practice represents the voice of an individual who has a clear image of their person, artist, sound designer (sometimes called DJ), conceptual artist, female, black woman and queer, which is presents throughout her oeuvre. What transitions from this is a practice that spills out as a multi-facet body, which is key to capturing her deep character and ideas. A key aspect to E. Jane’s work for the past year of 2016 is her sound work with the sound music duo SCRAAATCH (collaboration with plus_c) who have performed for the likes of MoMA PS1, and ICA (London) to name a few.

E. Jane obtained her MFA from the University of Pennsylvania and has previously exhibited with Wandering / WILDING: Blackness on the Internet, IMT Gallery, London, UK; To a point…, School of Visual Arts, CP Projects Space, New York, NY; After Aesthetics, Bar Babette, Berlin, DE; Uncommons, Little Berlin, Philadelphia, PA; Know Who You Are At Every Age, Bronx River Arts Center, Bronx, NY. E. Jane’s performances with SCAAATCH include Sunday Sessions: ATM Presents DEN$E, MoMA Ps1, Long Island City, NY; SCRAAATCH @ MoCADA, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, Brooklyn, NY; SCRAAATCH @ Free For All, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA; SCRAAATCH No.4, SOLID GOLD, Union Arts DC, Washington, DC.

E. Jane, E. The Avatar, 2015, Image screen shot courtesy of Alejandro Ball.

E. Jane, That time I sold my dreads online or thousands of dollars, 2015, image courtesy of artist.

E. Jane, Lavendra/Recovery (Iteration No.1), 2015, Installation, Image courtesy of artist.

For the month of January, CtC will present a selection of E. Jane’s works on Facebook and Twitter.

Alejandro Ball

Featured Image: E. Jane, #mood 1, 2015. Photo Booth video. 0:08 seconds, Gif image format courtesy of IMT Gallery.