Details

First Name

Jessica

Last Name

Copping

Username

jessicacopping

Website

http://www.jessica.copping.com

Region

Lanarkshire

Disciplines

Drawing, Painting

Themes

Abstract, Environment, Figurative, Geometric, Landscape, Political, Narratives

Statement

Statement

Framed within the context of the proposed current epoch of geological time, the Anthropocene, my practice studies humanity’s long-term impact on the strata record through our powerful influence on the environments, climate and ecology of the planet. In recent work I study humanity’s destructive alterations to the biosphere as well as the possibilities for positive change, associated with the advent and expansion of the Anthropocene by depicting the effects of a series of epoch-spanning cataclysmic events, both real and imagined.

I create constellations of paintings which position human-caused cataclysmic events within the context of recurring planetary and cosmic cataclysmic events in order to question how long our species will live with respect to deep time. My paintings are constructed from layers of oil, egg tempera and graphite which are partially eroded through sanding and engraving. This process is a combination of spontaneous mark making and considered detail which within the context of my subject signifies the excavation of layers of earth and time, revealing lost narratives and social collapse. When viewed collectively, the works form a complex web of signification, where bursts of detail, colour and abstract forms emerge from the distant past and reach into faraway future capturing the complexities of time, nature and culture in the Anthropocene age.

Biography

Biography

Born Norwich, England 1989. Currently living and working in Glasgow, Scotland. Graduate of Glasgow School of Art (2016) and Norwich University of the Arts (2010).

I am a visual artist specialising in drawing and painting. I have exhibited widely in the UK and internationally in Helsinki, New York and China. Other accolades include the Jerwood Visual Arts Artist Bursary (London, Shortlisted) and The Solo Award (London, longlisted). Selected exhibitions:

Solo

2018, Cataclysms, The North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford

Group

2021, Here and Now, Tatha Gallery, Newport-on-Tay, Fife

2019-2020, Utopia, Gracefield Arts Centre, moving to Kirkcudbright Galleries, Dumfries

2019, Time Spent Amongst Trees, Meffan Gallery, Forfar

2019, Palimpest, An Lanntair, Stornoway

2019, Society of Scottish Artists Annual Exhibition, RSA, Edinburgh 

2018, Reuse, Reinvent, Reimagine, Gallery 23, Endinburgh

2018, our eARTh, Kunsthuis Gallery, York

2018, FRESH, Rural Arts, York 

2018, OPEN, Society of Scottish Artists and Visual Art Scotland Annual exhibition, RSA, Edinburgh

View my full CV.