JENNA BILLIAN
Jenna Billian was born in 1985. She received her BA in Studio Art in May 2022 from Framingham State University where she studied Sculpture. Billian has already been included in various important exhibitions including the Annual Juried Exhibition at the Danforth Museum where she won the Emerging Artist Award and “I No Longer Fear Death” at Hearts Need Art where she won first prize in both video and audio categories. Billian explores the intersection of trauma, addiction, and escape in her work. She currently lives and works outside of Boston, Massachusetts.
ARTIST STATEMENT
For years, I spent my life running away by numbing any pain or uncomfortable memories by using drugs or alcohol. After getting sober in 2017 and doing trauma based therapy, I have begun to lean into the pain that I spent so many years trying to ignore.
My work is a place for me to confront and heal my emotional wounds. In my journey through recovery and trauma based therapy, I have learned that in order to fully heal, I must create a space for my inner child’s voice to be heard. This space is created during my art practice. By ending my ever-impossible need to be perfect, I create art that reveals imperfections and clearly shows where I have handled the materials. This aspect of my art is extremely important as it allows me to be vulnerable to the viewer, and creates a safe space for my humanness to shine through.
The sculptures I create come from my daily life and explore the intersection of trauma, addiction, and loss. They are a way for me to make sense of the world and relate my feelings in a humorous way. By creating everyday objects into oversized sculptures, I am inviting the viewer to get lost in their imagination while viewing my work.
AVAILABLE WORk
