Jane Giblen

Represented by Penny Contemporary and Fox Galleries

I admit to having very few memories of that night, but primarily I know I was amazed to be included because at that time I was unrepresented and had no masters qualification and my work was very naïve and self-referential. I was struggling in a relationship with a serious addict. After a few drinks his mind vanished and a monster emerged in its place; I was perpetually afraid and ashamed and he was there that night, in amongst it all.

My image in the cupboard is a self-portrait, breasts and arms splayed around while riding a goat, a he or she-goat snapping away on rocky ground. It, like much of my work at that time, was a simplistic response to my experience during those years. I think I recall the party occurring inside and outside…a patio may have been beyond the kitchen area…I recall moving around the Weeding family home, being shown by Helene her casement of antique boxes from McInlay’s I think?…. I was alert to its sweet and musky scent and the beautiful polished furniture of that dining room. I know that Helene, Katy and myself were Poppy King lipstick devotees. Their friendship during those years was a gift indeed and that silly lipstick ‘gang’ was a joyous touch stone. 

I recall that the carpet or rugs gave the night softness, despite the raucous fun going on in the kitchen. I remember wondering about how nice it would have been to live in Launie, the town of my birth, then.