Jillian Wordsworth’s practice is one of ‘slow art’, which she describes as providing a quietude, a sanctuary for reflection and introspection. She invites viewers to look beyond the surface and explore boundaries between physical and metaphysical realms. In this body of work, Wordsworth moves beyond the representational form of the land, to explore history and experience of place. Through the repetitive qualities of her practice, Wordsworth invites viewers to contemplate complexities of belonging.

These works are drawn from her recent MFA studies in which she explored the formation of identity, and the social, geographical and historical factors which contribute to the stratigraphy of the individual, with particular focus on Pākehā history, identity and belonging within Aotearoa. Wordsworth traced her family’s history within Aotearoa and reflected on the extra nuances imbued by fact of her adoption. Identifying and visiting sites significant to her family’s settlement stories, the act of pigment collection from each location necessitated immersion in site and a wondering of the history to which it bore witness.

The multi-layered abstract paintings created from these pigments invite reflection on the interplay of past/present/future, while the use of water-based media allows the pigments to flow, depicting intersecting rivers of consciousness. Each painting becomes a meditation, a place in which to consider the question: ko wai ahau?

Jillian Wordsworth

Christchurch born artist Jillian Wordsworth initially trained in primary education, specialising in art and music. She furthered her interest in art through community classes and exhibitions, before returning to university to complete a Master’s degree in Fine Art.

Wordsworth’s art explores the interconnectivity of people and place. The landscape has been a recurring motif, influenced in part by her rural Canterbury upbringing. Her meditative works explore the experience of place and the boundaries between physical and metaphysical realms. Utilising ground pigments in a water media, her paintings invoke a stillness and quietude, a sanctuary for reflection and introspection. Her charcoal drawings likewise seek to transcend the limitations of the material world, inviting contemplation of possibilities beyond.

Arts Training and Education:

2024 MFA Ilam School of Fine Art, University of Canterbury
2022 BFA (1st Class Honours) Ilam School of Fine Art, University of Canterbury
2010 Summer School plus on-going mentoring with NZ Artist Allie Eagle
2005-2010 Various workshops and programmes and through Te Whare Marama, Lower Hutt