Artist Statement
Female, over sixty, made redundant—not the trifecta I was aiming for. After 25 years teaching in the visual arts sector, I received a handshake and a push towards the door in 2019. No stranger to professional identity struggles within the creative and cultural landscape, I felt equipped to deal with the ensuing change in pace, to navigate the crossroads of redundancy versus renewal, and to grapple with the big questions now looming over the horizon. I have mostly resisted the urge to kick back on the couch, and usually dress as if going to work, finding it reassuring to apply lipstick and foundation. My self-portrait documents this piecing together of my useful face, as it were.

Further Insight
Jill Talbot holds a Bachelor of Education (Visual Arts & Crafts) with Honours in Drawing and Printmaking from the University of Melbourne. Talbot’s early training as a printmaker is evident in her work through the use of hand-cut stencils, rollers, engraved surfaces and mono-printing techniques which are often utilised in her painting process.

Commissioned by the Print Council of Australia to produce a Members’ Edition of etchings, Talbot’s work can be found in regional and private collections throughout Australia. She exhibits widely in group awards and art prizes and has had several solo exhibitions at the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery in New South Wales.