An afternoon with Jess Cochrane

An afternoon with Jess Cochrane

#!!social_sharing!!#

 

  

Introducing Jess Cochrane, a Sydney-based artist whose works implore you to view female beauty in a new light; think portraits covered in lipstick kisses and defaced with varying shades of pink paint. We spent some time with Jess in her studio recently, discussing women in art, female beauty and the colour pink.

 

 

There's a lot of pink in your art (and your studio). What draws you to the colour?

I love using pink in a subversive way. It's a colour universally considered to be pretty, feminine and I take it and use it to create something messy and grotesque.

 

 

If you could only choose one, which is your favourite piece from the HEIRLOOM collection? 

I love the Bold Float Ring! The hidden diamonds are such a surprise (available from mid-August).  

 

 

Is there a story behind the lipstick used in your pieces?

Women wear lipstick as a way to enhance their beauty. It draws the eye; my work in about reclaiming the male gaze so it seems to fit. Taking an object that was created to make women more desirable and using it to deface a typically beautiful portrait feels like harnessing the power of women again. 

 

 

What do you want women to take from your art?

One of the hardest lessons to learn is that being a women, being yourself, is okay - whatever that looks like.