Jessica “J.B.” Burke
Sweet Narratives of Peril

October 6 - 28, 2023

Drawing and Installation

Artist Statement:
Drawings from this series express the language of excess and consequence. The works with osteological elements reverse the role of predator and prey within this cage of complex carbohydrates. These surreal tableaus use a saccharine sweet palette to underscore the implied threat of ultra processed snacks. All of this candy-coated architecture suggests comfort and nostalgia, but emphasizes the paradox between strong and weak, natural and unnatural. Theses fictional and fabricated spaces can be viewed but never entered. They become a silent, but ambitious narrative that allows the viewer to explore these perilous constructions that are the imagined artifacts of an artificial and detrimental landscape. The viewer is encouraged to find stories that investigate the body, identity, gender, greed, ritual, economics, and class.

— Jessica “J.B.” Burke, 2023

Biography:
Jessica “JB” Burke  is a prolific multi-disciplinary artist from the midwest that now lives and works in North Carolina. Working across installation, drawing and digital media, Burke examines the relationship between material and cultural identity. She incorporates elements of Osteology, excess, scale manufactured foods scapes with ultra-processed foods into her storytelling. Her complex, layered, and exquisitely executed creations invite the viewer to consider objects as emblematic of personal and collective experiences.Her work has been included in competitive group and solo exhibitions nationally and internationally that include the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts in Tallahassee, Florida; the Toshima Gallery in Tokyo, Japan; the LuXun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China; the Élysees Modern and Contemporary Art Fair in Paris, France and the Kepco Plaza Gallery Museum in Seoul, South Korea.  Her creative work is in private, public and corporate collections that include the City of North Charleston, South Carolina; Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP; GLAAD, New York City; the City of Savannah, Georgia; Seminole State College, Florida and the National Living Treasure Museum in Yugawara, Japan.

Website: JessicaBurkeArtist.com
Instagram: @jburkeartist