Jules Briggs
feverdream Residency Proposal
My goal during the 3-month residency at Feverdream is to create a body of work on canvas that relates to one or several themes concerning family (both blood-relative and found), feminist theory and/or LGBTQA+. My artwork is deeply personal, and I wish to show my experiences in a more relatable way, using dreamscapes, fantasy scenes & characters, and material exploration.
My current studio practice has begun to incorporate some of these themes into my work (i.e. the incorporation of fictional characters from media & television, collage aspects) prior to the residency and I want to dive deeper. With the resources from the Feverdream residency, I will be able to source more tools to create a mixed-media perspective, find media and books to collage into my paintings, and gain knowledge from multimedia artist critiques to support my knowledge of different mediums and their compatibilities. The landscapes of my paintings are busy right now and I like the clutter, but I need to clutter strategically so the context of the paintings is not overwhelmed or lost.
"Tributary", Acrylic on Canvas, 30"x40", $2200
"Tributary" tells the story of my brother and I and our separate relationship to our father. At times, the difficult emotions surrounding our father can cause distance or a divide in our relationship to each other. While I have always felt akin to my dad, my brother has not, which is why I am interacting with the waterway/ boat (representative of my dad) and my brother is not.
(left) "Susannah", Acrylic and Collage on Canvas
(right) "Lindsey", Acrylic and Collage on Canvas
"Susannah" and "Lindsey" are two of my friends I painted with permission to represent the objection of forced social norms onto the queer community. Both women prefer to style themselves in stereotypically "masculine" clothing. The collage element of the paper doll clothing is indicative of the social pressure or expectation for women to dress femininely.
"Pinocchio", Acrylic on Canvas, $2500
"Pinocchio" is aptly representative of "Pinocchio" the film (Guillermo Del Toro version) and the father/son relationship within. All retellings of "Pinocchio" ask the question, what does a son owe his father? And, better yet, what does a father owe his son? In the painting I allude to the scene in the whale when Pinocchio and Geppetto work with each other to light a fire, hence causing the whale to "sneeze them out" due to the smoke accumulation.
"Peter Pan in Pomerania", Acrylic and Collage on Canvas, $960
This is a self-portrait of myself reclaiming my ancestral heritage to Pomerania in Poland. I only recently discovered a group of family members living in Detroit with whom I am becoming acquainted with and learning my family history from.
With this painting, I am also using myself in place of Peter Pan to state my opposition to the sexist roles written into the story of Peter Pan. Wendy is cast as the stereotypical mother, caring for the lost boys and mothering her love interest. In this particular scene of the story, Wendy assists Peter by sewing his shadow back onto his feet. In my painting, I sew my own shadow (representative of Poland) onto myself, claiming my independence and becoming the main character of my own story, not an assisting role in the modern patriarchal journey of men,.
"Hit", Oil and Pastel on Canvas, $990
The detailed meaning of "Hit" is still vague to me, although I know it has to do with the tensions that exist between my mother and I. "Hit" is one of the 'moodier' of my paintings with Feverdream, aptly mirroring the current relationship I have with my mother.
Found Family Series, Acrylic on 8"x8" Canvas, $220 ea.
This is an ongoing series of my closest friendships. I have frequently painted my friends in my work, as themselves or as models so this is an homage to my love for them and the depth of our found family connection.