Words by Christopher Kevin Au

The creative process serves many purposes.

For Jess Cochrane, painting has been one path on her journey to self-acceptance, which she explores in her latest exhibition titled Mirror Mirror  – an examination of perceptions about women. In many ways, Jess’ art is fueled by juxtapositions – described as “strikingly beautiful and simultaneously grotesque paintings,” her works feature female subjects covered in vicious scrawls and smudges, filled with bleeding, chaotic colours. As a result, her works also offer commentary on society’s expectations of women and the shifting notions of beauty.

Ahead of the Mirror Mirror exhibition tomorrow night at Goodspace Gallery, we chat with Jess about her stunning artworks, aesthetic approach and how painting has helped her personally. Read what Jess had to say below, and find all the event details right here before heading down to see it in the flesh:

What is your earliest memory where you struggled with insecurities in the mirror?

I can’t pinpoint my earliest memory exactly, but I know that high school was full of moments spent harshly judging my appearance in front of the bathroom mirrors and in dance class.

You said that your style developed from drawing over fashion magazines, almost vandalising them. In this sense do you feel like your art aligns with graffiti in its motivations and ethos?

I think that the attitude I am manifesting within my practice aligns with graffiti’s motivations and ethos, but visually and physically is definitely doesn’t. I guess the thing that is understood and appreciated about graffiti and its culture is the ability to change an urban landscape.

A bland brick wall now becomes a canvas for an array of brightly coloured tags, then slowly a piece or two appear, then post-graffitti pieces will start to appear and over time we end up with this really beautiful and exciting public art space – and ‘graffiti’ and ‘vandalism’ is now seen as something striking and to be appreciated. By painting on top of an image as planned out as a cityscape, I’m asking viewers to appreciate the works I make with the same attitude as above, only in a different outfit.

You have also spoken about your struggles with anxiety. How have you coped with this? Has uncertainty about the quality of your work ever amplified those anxious feelings?

Some days I cope well, others I don’t. I often have days where I get in the studio and can’t see through the old anxiety haze and I’m convinced that nothing I am doing is quality, and I’ll be convinced I’m just some gronk with a paintbrush. Anxiety has a funny way of making you uncertain about yourself and you can’t be certain of anything if you’re not being kind to yourself. The difference these days is understanding the anxious tendencies and knowing how to deal with them – understanding the importance of the relationship between these feelings and my art practice helps me be more certain in a way.

How do you feel social media has changed perceptions about beauty? On one hand, a more diverse array of people are finding an online spotlight, but on the other it seems like it’s becoming easier for people to be shamed and ridiculed on a very public platform?

I feel like most things in this life have their pros and cons, and social media has the extreme version of both. We now have a platform that allows us to create spaces to celebrate beauty and diversity and grow that which I think is really cool. On the other hand it’s like this virtual mirror that talks to you like the one in Snow White but is way more of a bitch. I also think it’s a lot easier to be super critical on the Internet because it’s easy to judge image as object and disregard the reality of what went down behind the scenes.

We’re in the thick of the effects of social media craze at this point. Right now we’re observing and experiencing and questioning the extreme pros and cons. I think in a decade we’ll have more clarity on how it’s affected and changed beauty and self-perception.

What role do you think celebrities play in all of this? Someone like Kylie Jenner frequently promotes self-acceptance, yet is also criticised for getting plastic surgery and promoting unrealistic images for young girls – where does her obligation start, if at all?

The whole judging harshly on the internet thing comes into play again here, but also it’s pretty obvious that old mate Kylie lives in a pretty glossy high pressure world and in turn is putting a lot of pressure on herself to meet the weird AF glossy celebrity mark. Kylie has also openly admitted to struggling with anxiety. If anything, I think her obligation is to be open and honest with her audience about the affects of pressure on her self-perception rather than tip toeing around it and leaving a young, impressionable audience thinking that plump lips overnight are a part of puberty as much as pubes are.

In a time where we are bombarded with constant and conflicting images about who we should be or look like, do you think it’s possible to achieve complete self-acceptance in the first world?

I think we’ve made it really hard for ourselves but I do think it’s possible. We just need to like ourselves a little more.

You have teamed up with The Ladies Network for the upcoming exhibition. Why have you chosen to work with this collective?

Women in the arts in Australia are grossly underrepresented. I think it’s important to connect with other creative women and keep that community growing at any chance possible. The team at The Ladies Network is a team full of bloody legends so like, why wouldn’t I want to team up with them really?

What’s on the cards for Jess for the rest of 2016?

Heaps of stuff!