Australian born artist and lived between Buenos Aires and New York until 2013, now resides in Australia. Janno’s artworks are quirky and eclectic, intended to sew hope, bravery, resilience, and whimsy, anchored by a deliberately ridiculous and unwavering sense of humour. Her approach is unapologetically bold with a preference for blazing colour and mixed media. Deploying paint, dance, installation, thread, and richly associative metaphors she portrays the most vulnerable, fragile, and endangered in society. In her ten solo exhibitions, Janno has explored the theme of outsider; the foreigner living in a non-English speaking world; the disenfranchised urban poor; and closer to home and as the mother of a child with autism, the isolation of disability. Her paintings and large-scale installations are a call to arms to provide safe spaces for our vulnerable and our planet from extinction. Janno holds a Masters of Contemporary art 2018, (Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne University), Ba Fine Art (RMIT), Dip Outdoor education (BCAE), RN (UNSW- Prince of Wales/Henry) *Janno is currently immersed in creating a ‘Sunflower quilt for Ukraine’ global community art project/installation, in collaboration with a Ukraine charity for young artists, and recently returned from London showing 200 m of the installation outside in Hyde Park, Tate modern, Albert Hall, Sussex, Sloane St , Millennium bridge, overlooking St Pauls Cathedral and no 10 Downing St.
Janno McLaughlin
"My artwork always concerns hope, care, love inclusion and protection of our vulnerable planet and inhabitants in the natural world"
Approach
I went to Liddell trying to be as open as possible as am an environmentalist, and originally went there in celebration of the idea of transitioning from coal to a greener environment. Walking around the immense power station, amongst the grease and enormous machinery, the overpowering noises I was struck about the fragility and humanity of the people who made up the workforce in Lidell and their personification and association of mother, earth, home and family that the workers all vocalised. I listened to the conversations and felt it important to somehow capture, honour and record the wishes, hopes, dreams of the people there who were leaving Lidell:- hence the project The Wishing tree - I also had proposed the planting of trees for each worker so was happy to see that young trees were being given to workers on the day of closure. (My project was influenced by New York Artist Lee Mingwei, and his mending project, and German artist Joseph Beuys, 7000 Oaks)
My Journey
