Upright Gallery - Evoking Change

Jenny Pope’s current work is a collection of objects exploring psychological change. She combines old objects, with layers of meaning and past uses, as a metaphor for the layers of past experiences and influences that have shaped us as people. The tools have both a handheld part, a connection with the body, and a business end; to cut, measure, form, gather, press, pull, comb or scrape. People are inherently ‘doers’ and these tools are an attempt to do something when actually the process of change sometimes requires more of a ‘being with’.

Jenny Pope is a visual artist producing a range of work from small delicate objects to large-scale sculptural pieces. She is intrigued

by the physicality of materials, making processes and the meaning of objects.

At the core of her working practice is experimentation with the limits and possibilities of materials such as porcelain, found objects, felt, ink and paper. She uses the analogy of weathering of objects to suggest the uncertainty and changes we all face as human beings.

Her explorations suggest links between archaeology, taxonomy and psychology as she examines the intuitive/primitive use of found objects as contemporary worry beads or contemplative talismans.

Heavenly Collaborations

Jenny Pope has taken inspiration from the Chinese fable about Heaven and Hell, where both places only have six foot long chopsticks to eat with. Both places are full of food, but the people in Hell are starving and miserable as they are unable to feed themselves. However, in Heaven the people are content, full and happy as they feed each other, not themselves. This relates to Pope’s idea of Utopia, where cooperation and collaboration would be common place and competition and ‘everyone for themselves’ would be gone.

These tools consist of long branches with a new selection of tool ends relating to collaboration.

Heavenly Collaborators

Options Sifter

Brain Fog Exfoliator

Bullshit Trimmer - detail

Feeling Wobbly Defender

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Greta Thunberg Amplifiers

Earlier last year Jenny Pope began following the young climate activist Greta Thunberg on social media and when she started hearing about her she was relatively unknown outside Sweden. When Pope explained to people what was inspiring her work they looked blank when she said her name. How things have changed. Pope feels that Thunberg is speaking a truth that is resonating amongst many of us, she is a fantastic source of inspiration and call to action. Pope is now more comfortable saying climate crisis, climate emergency. She is also aware of the need to be kind to ourselves and each other as we attempt to make sense of our personal and collective responsibilities. Pope is aware of the need to connect to nature, what we feel is precious we are more likely to value. That includes the wild open spaces as well as the weedy corners.

Mixed Media

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Three toolkits

Toolkit to Hear Myself Think

Distraction Elimination Toolkit

Toolkit for the Incurable Procrastinator

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Digital overload toolkits

Digital Soup Destressor

I T Mallet

Grumpy Mood Dislodger

Reboot Button

Techno Tiredness Reliever

Tension Catcher

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Fear of missing out riddler

Detail

Habbit Catcher

Detail

Sunrise Gatherers

Jenny Pope has made a series of tools called ‘Sunrise Gatherers’ and these are specific to particular locations, in this exhibition, walks and paths on the Meadows. The inspiration came from Pope’s early morning walks along Portobello Beach, and the idea of trying to capture an intangible moment at a particular time and place, and likes the idea that each place would need a slightly different tool. Pope is also interested in following this up with creating tools that have an impossible use, like ‘Wave Gatherers’ where the objects are a metaphor for our ability to control the environment. Pope enjoyed crocheting the nets for the ‘Sunrise Gatherers’, “it was very therapeutic and absorbing and I am reminded of the joy in making using a repetitive process. It is important to me to enjoy the making of my art as much as the end result”.

Archway Walk

Boys Brigade Walk

Coronation Walk

George Maczek Walk

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Jawbone Walk

Leamington Walk

Middle Meadow Walk

South Meadow Walk

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