Colby Jennings

Making art is a lot like standing on your head.  It requires dedication, it can be strange to witness, and it can result in a headache (or rush).  But most importantly, somewhere in the process of art making, the world is turned upside down and can be seen in new ways.  There are many situations, experiences, and memories that make little sense for me.  Others make me uncomfortable or anxious.  Using this perplexity and anxiety as my points of departure, I rearrange issues to move toward a deeper comprehension of their experience and origin.

My work makes use of various mediums, including video, performance, interactivity, and installation to address my above-mentioned concerns.  Using these mediums, along with print and photography allows me to collect specimens and study instances of my confrontation with uncertainty.  I have used my work in various ways including in attempts to demystify hegemonic masculinity and normative gender roles prescribed by the rural regional culture in which I was raised.

I make in order to understand.  Through my art, I expose and disarm my anxieties via meditation, repetition, and re-experience.  In doing so, I construct conversations with my viewers, and at times, ask them to become part of the experience.