Jane Venis, Academic Leader (Creative Studies)
Making various gadgets and machines had been Jane Venis’ passion for more than ten years. “I describe my works as ‘crafted assemblage’. I want them to retain the essence of the materials that have been lovingly collected and reworked. My instruments and objects give a new lease of life to materials many people regard as scrap metal and rubbish”. While undertaking her Master of Fine Arts through the Otago Polytechnic School of Art she developed a body of work that was interactive and made from previously-used materials.
“My work also references the Japanese art of Chindogu - objects that have been freed from the chains of usefulness.” (Kenji Kawakami 1995).
Lately, the passion for chindogu has turned into the research topic for her PhD in Fine Arts from Griffith University of Queensland, Australia. "I am looking at how chindogu can be used to articulate the ground between art and design with particular reference to an exploration of contemporary exercise equipment.”
Jane Venis is a performance, sound and installation artist who exhibits throughout the country. She is also Academic Leader for the Creative Studies programme at the School of Design.