Jane Downes – Biography
After an early career in cartography and draughting, Jane Downes completed a Bachelor of Design majoring in Sculpture at Christchurch Polytechnic. She then moved into spatial/interior design and began developing her sculpture practice.
“I use forms in my work that resonate with me, both natural and manmade. Often common or from childhood, sometimes delicate and fleeting objects from nature, sometimes robust geometric forms from popular culture and industry.
Specific themes in my work include colonisation, security and shelter along with more abstract themes commenting on the human condition, challenging preconceptions of: purpose and beauty, valuable and lowly, masculine and feminine, permanence and the ephemeral. These dichotomies are also reflected in my use of recycled, found and industrial materials.” – Jane Downes
