Jolene Beckman

Ode to Pandora
mixed media on paper

For as long as I have been aware that I can fill my work with meaning, I have been drawing, painting and assembling pieces that focus on women’s issues. I have addressed topics such as motherhood, sexual and physical abuse, gender, and body image.

Through collage I have recently begun a mission of restoring the names of “fallen women” in literature and mythology such as Eve, Pandora and Ophelia. The stories have made them disgraceful, ineffectual and a moral warning to other women. It is my goal to reinvent them in a modern way, offering them redemption and elevating them as symbols of strength and inspiration. I have reinforced this message with the use of feminine materials such as ribbons, lace, embroidery and fabrics.

In creating a new version of these women with a medium that highlights their femininity, I believe they are brought out of their context and transformed into honorable figures.

© Jolene Beckman