Deanne Jolley. Artist. Printmaker: Bubble Wrap Series ONE and TWO.

Deanne Jolley has been on the emerging artists scene in Melbourne for the past several years, specialising in Printmaking while applying digital applications. While portraying concepts of a philosophical nature, Jolley focuses on the personalities of the self and it’s relationship to the other. Ultimately, her exploration of personalities is a journey through life and the conflicts we all face; both internally and externally.

Jolley’s mysterious images in her featured bubble wrap series force us to consider how our environments and circumstances affect us. They evoke immediate feelings of awkwardness, and lead us to contemplate how they got themselves into this position. Jolley expresses that each little bubble represents an element in our lives that attempts to control us. Each single bubble joins with the others to form a psychological straightjacket. It secures the individual in a tightly bound cocoon of a man-made material that traditionally serves to protect. With the notion of bubble-wrap’s protective qualities in mind, its contradictory and sinister role in these images is made even more disturbing as it appears to take over its host. These constrictors are representative of the controlling aspects of our lives; jobs, money, or our relationships. While references to bubble wrap conventionally suggest safety for the fragile, the wrap has turned into something that threatens their existence. However, Jolley’s images also lead the audience to consider the endless possibilities and adventures that exist beyond these confines. Although we may feel somewhat restrained at times, the possibilities for change and discover a new sense of self are endless.

The work forces us to stop and consider whether our lives are in control. Do we really live our lives according to our personal ideals and dreams, or is the way we live being dictated by external forces that are beyond our control? There is a moment in Jolley’s work that becomes reflective and optimistic about the future of these figures. The body has become used to the wrapping, but in doing so claims it as their own and moves into a future filled with hopefulness. While we can live and adapt to deal with the constricting demands in life, to embrace what we have been dealt and to grow from the experience is desired.

Bubble Wrap Series TWO!!