Lizamore & Associates - Jenny Nijenhuis - Playing By The Rules

Lizamore & Associates - Jenny Nijenhuis - Playing By The Rules

Playing by Her Own Rules: Nijenhuis Challanges Gender Norms

Multidisciplinary artist Jenny Nijenhuis throws a wrench into societal gender norms in her exhibition "Playing By The Rules". Through a series of powerful sculptures, she carefully dismantles the ideologies we've been conditioned to accept, defying the arbitrary rules set upon us.

"Just for a moment imagine throwing out these rules," Nijenhuis proposes. "All those conditioned ways of being which are accepted by you and me and everyone in some form or another, as undeniable truth. Truths so deep and passed on to us with so much love, and belief and unquestioned acceptance that we perpetuate a cycle of limitation."

Using the human form as her canvas, Nijenhuis explores identity and our place in the world. She delves into how we internalize our identities, shaped by societal influences, and how these often lead to limiting, stereotypical beliefs and behaviors. Nijenhuis challenges the binary boxes that confine us, urging us to break free from conformity and embrace true individuality.

"I have a deep desire to elicit a shift in perception that has the ability to transform", she says, " even if only in the small personal space that we do not share with others."

Nijenhuis creates life-size clay figures to achieve a powerful physical presence, while smaller works incorporating trace element explore presence through installation. This exhibition marks a return to her artistic roots after years spent in corporate marketing and running her own communications agency. Her personal journey to understand huma identity, shaped by various dogmas, fuels her current artist exploration.

About the Artist:

Born in Johannesburg in 1969, Nijenhuis earned her BAFA from the University if Witwatersrand in 1993. She returned to art in 2012 after a successful career in communications, focusing on sculpture and installation. In 2019, she delivered a keynote address at Cornell University on empowering women globally. She was a finalist in several renowned art competitions and has exhibited widely in South Africa. This marks her first solo exhibition with Lizamore & Associates.

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