Window Dressings: Trappings of a Comfortable Place

Jenna Turner

Dates: April 20 – June 17, 2017

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 11, 2017 6-8pm

In Jenna’s words….. 

Whether it is an old grain elevator or the presence of a maternal figure, the materials and processes I employ often reflect the vast prairie landscape and day to day life of working class families such as my own. In the exhibition, Window Dressings: Trappings of a Comfortable Place, I begin to use the various homes I have lived in throughout Canada, Australia, and the United States as backdrops for this body of work.

Composed primarily of porcelain sculpture, video, and installation work, Window Dressings explores the potential dangers and securities of living in an all-too-comfortable life. Through societal pressures of needing to build a perfect home or happy family, we often hesitate to reveal the messy kitchens or enraging moments. By smashing ceramic axes, carving into drywall, and embracing cracked porcelain, Window Dressings attempts to challenge conventional standards and celebrate the mundane.

Biography

Jenna Turner was born and raised in Red Deer, Alberta. She graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design in 2011 and went on to complete month-long residencies at Medalta and Red Deer College. In 2014 Jenna received her Master of Fine Arts degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2015 Jenna traveled to South Korea with an Alberta Foundation for the Arts Cultural Relations Grant to attend the Gyeonggi International Ceramics Biennial where she was an exhibiting artist and presenter. Most recently, Jenna received an Alberta Foundation for the Arts Individual Project Grant to complete her year-long residency and exhibition here at Medalta.