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Weird Flex, But Ok

After months of keeping this exciting announcement under wraps, we are thrilled to reveal that this March, QT Canberra will play host to Jess Cochrane’s newest exhibition; Weird Flex, But OK.

Following the success of her After My Own Heart exhibition in 2017, Jess is back in 2019 with a collection that is sure to strike a few chords. We sat down with Jess to chat about just what to expect when Weird Flex, But OK hits QT Canberra.

Bringing her artistic talents back to her hometown before relocating her career to London, Cochrane has developed a body of work that reflects on her time spent at home from the past and in the present – exploring and paying homage to Canberra’s diverse creative arts community with her expressive visual storytelling through portraiture.

Cochrane’s signature approach of using highly gestural and expressive mark making, worked into the surface of beautiful photographic portraits, is a must-see emotional response to many of the hard-hitting issues that affect the modern woman. With the basis of the artist’s work portraying the binaries of westernised societal standards and culture that are opposed on femininity, Cochrane will be delving deeper into our current obsession of the social media ‘flex’ and the constant bombardment of online imagery that only shows our best selves – creating a warped sense of reality due to the ability to enhance, subtract and create a false truth to an audience.

Cochrane uses her platform to question these ideals: “I want to shine a light on how damaging this extreme drive for visual consumption is on the individual, and encourage audiences to question if it makes them feel good, or if it’s making them feel inadequate or creating a desire to conform to a particular image. My work is a process of discovery around how we can learn to accept and love the self in an age of internet validation.”

 

QT: How did the title for your latest body of work come about?

Jess: The title of the show came from spending too much time on the internet. The term ‘weird flex, but ok’, is in reference to people showing off online, but in a way that is questionable or over the top and very much stretched from the reality of living. For example- imagine scrolling through your instagram feed and seeing a friend drinking a cocktail, in a mankini, while holding a very small dog. Weird flex, but ok.

QT: Tell us a little more about the message behind your collection.

Jess: It’s more of a questioning critique of the visual imagery we are consuming today. The pace in which we are consuming it, and the emotional reaction we have to it as consumers ourselves. The works in the show are in a way, the antithesis of the images we see online and in advertising. The work is not so much a message but a question. In what way does todays pop culture and our visual diet affect us?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Btp2bCNj0ra/

QT: Why do you think it’s important for your audience to hear your message?

Jess: There is a fine line these days between defining ourselves through fashion, beauty an culture and warping our sense of self. Our access to just about everything these days is instantaneous. As quickly as we see an image of idealism or desire, means of purchasing said idealism or desire is just as quick and accessible. It’s important to think about consuming consciously and wether or not it adds enjoyment to our lives, or if it is in fact doing damage to the way we see and accept ourselves.

QT: What mediums did you choose for this body of work, and why did they resonate with you?

Jess: My practice is always multidisciplinary. I work with photographic image, acrylic paint, oil pastel, and found images ie- collage. These mediums always resonate with me because of the binaries they create when they are combined to create a portrait.

QT: What can we expect from Weird Flex, But OK?

Jess: Visuals you will love, hate and relate to.

 

Join us at the Exhibition Opening Night at QT Canberra

Friday 8th March, 6pm – 9pm
Drinks and canapés served from 7-8pm
QT Canberra Foyer
For more details view the official event here.

words by stephanie dempster


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