BOXES OF CURIOSITY

Jennie Sharman-Cox

Found objects, antiques and collectables, have always played an important part in my work and this has inevitably led me to assemblage as a way to express an emotion or explore a theme. The use of shrine-like boxes, with their religious overtones, enables me to play out three dimensional stories, often from the female perspective.  Drawing on historical references, figurative art, sacred imagery and mythology I can examine our curious fascination with death and desire, love and loss, the morbid and macabre. A line of poetry or a piece of text can suggest a narrative, or this can gradually emerge as I gather things together. Some of the antique objects, beautiful in their own right, have their own tales to tell and then I can use my clay and textile skills to complete the scene, hopefully with some humour and always a little theatricality.

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Jennie Sharman-Cox has had a varied artistic background. After training and working as a display artist in London’s Carnaby Street, she returned to art school to study ceramics before setting up her own studio, exhibiting and teaching. Changing direction again  she joined a leading theatrical costumiers, designing and making costumes for the stage. In 2010 she made her first collection of hand sewn costume jewellery which was selected to be part of the ‘Bling’ Exhibition at the V&A Bethnal Green and in 2011 she began producing her ‘Boxes of Curiosity’ which are now her main focus of work.

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