Jane Eccles: In These Threads

January 20 - March 17, 2019

Visual Arts Centre of Clarington

Since 2005, Jane Eccles has painted dresses lent to her by various women and their relatives because of their link to a significant event or memory. As part of her process, Eccles researches their stories, producing archival paintings inspired by the narratives of women from all walks of life, such as Canadian writer, Margaret Atwood, and local farm woman and civic leader, Helen Liss.

​Separated from their real subjects, the very clear absence of the female body in Eccles paintings turns her work into a feminist critique. The dresses are juxtaposed against Canadian landscapes and waterscapes often referencing various parts of southern Ontario where they were painted. They imply the absence of the female body in landscapes, portraits, and narratives amongst others. In These Threads is an exhibition that surveys Eccles long-standing practice and invites viewers to think about the missing narratives from past and present conversations.