Andrea Jennings is a visual artist and occupational therapist from Chicago IL.
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Artist's Statement
I am inspired by my career as a healthcare practitioner, and my personal experiences with the chronic autoimmune condition, ankylosing spondylitis. The human body is a source of endless contemplation for me, and I create art that relates to its structure and function, as well as the lived experiences of managing a body with chronic pain. My early work, Not For Prophet reflected on experiences navigating the complex and dysfunctional American healthcare system, in which I critiqued the barriers to accessing care, and questioned the notions of "expertise." I began to create abstracted drawings that referenced anatomy and physiology, from the perspective of a young artist with little scientific or medical background. With these Sensory Systems drawings, I reflected on both the beauty and mystery of human structure and function, exploring various organs and creating rhythmic patterns and designs out of them. After five years spent as an art educator, I then studied occupational therapy, and became a provider of care to individuals with disabilities across the lifespan. I am inspired by the social model of disability, and the disability rights movement, as well as the diverse experiences of the individuals and families that I serve as a therapist. My current projects involve Neurodiversity, a group of paintings inspired by the human brain, Écorché, a series of portrait paintings in which the subject "bares" an area of the body that has significant meaning to them, and System Imaging, a series of drawings that represent the 11 anatomical systems of the human body. Education: BFA Painting: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2010 BFA Art Education: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011 MSOT: Occupational Therapy: University of Illinois at Chicago, 2018 Contact me. |
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| Andrea Jennings |