Jana Charl
My creative process involves exploring a variety of media and techniques that test the boundaries of what defines contemporary art, including the blurring of the traditional lines dividing craft, commercial art, and fine art. My practice involves experimentation, refining and combining, and adding to my repertoire. As a passionate storyteller, my inspiration relies on the raw materials, experiences, and everyday observations that I collect.
Seeking to draw attention to sustainability and conservation issues, I reimagine overlooked and discarded items destined for landfills. Viewing objects from an aesthetic and narrative point-of-view, rather than solely for an intended functional purpose, I appropriate inherent meanings and rework them for entirely new interpretations. Sourcing these supplies often involves others and nurtures an environment of story-sharing with nostalgia and humor.
In order to circumvent language barriers and focus on the visual experience, I have created a language of graphic bars to represent words and punctuation. Viewers are able to fill in the blanks with their individualized interpretations which interests me more than prescriptively spelling out the meaning.
Valuing diversity and inclusion, I address current topics, especially feminism, and more recently the natural world, with an intention to question standards and bring awareness to preconceptions.
