Jessica Gannaway’s exhibition takes the idea of ‘Real and Imagined Spaces’ from Edward Soja, a modern spatial theorist. This body of work provokes viewers to think about the imaginary and discursive places we inhabit in relationship to other people: shared spaces, contested spaces, collaborative spaces and boundaries and walls that divide us.

Gannaway also reflects on the physical spaces she has inhabited and the impact they have had upon her, in learning from the Indigenous community she lived with and their profound connection and responsibility to land.

The exhibition concept marks the interconnection of the thematic work Gannaway is doing in her doctoral studies, and the art practice that she has maintained alongside full time teaching and part time study. Part of the challenge of her ongoing practice is finding ways to consolidate her art with the very pragmatic and ‘real-world’ challenges of her work in complex educational spaces.

Jessica Gannaway’s work is primarily in textiles, experimenting with slow eco-techniques such as dyeing with barks and other botanical materials, imprinting leaves into silk and allowing slow processes of rust and decay to create unpredictable patterns on fabric.

These textiles are then used in mixed media works, including tapestry and digital illustration.