Into the Rabbit Hole
Jess Coldrey / Australia / Mixed media art installation and video / 2023 / European Premiere / 5 min
Jess Coldrey explores her uncertain and pain-ridden relationship to the world during her battle with endometriosis by creating a soft, surreal, yet alien world through contemporary quilts and surreal digital imagery.
Exploring the challenges of managing chronic pain from endometriosis, Jess Coldrey used comforting objects from painful episodes and surgery recovery in her art. As discussed in her video, personally sentimental fabrics like pillows, cushions, and pyjamas served as anchors, providing a sense of safety and calmness as pain transformed her inner state, rendering the external world unrecognisable. Quilts and AI-informed surreal images map the isolating coldness she experienced in medical spaces back to her own inner world through texture, colour and touch. In an act of care, Coldrey has assembled these pieces to patch together her own meaning in suffering and advocating for patients’ experiences.
The development of the project was generously supported by the City of Stonnington Arts and Cultural Grants program
About the artist
Jess Coldrey is an internationally exhibited technology artist recognised as one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering in the UK. Bridging the scientific community and the public, her work makes complex topics accessible and engaging.