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Artist Jessica Swank

Updated: Aug 31






Jessica Swank is an interdisciplinary artist, currently based in Greenville, SC. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, at galleries such as Millepiani in Rome, Italy, Plexus Projects in Brooklyn, NY, ARC Gallery in Chicago, IL, and the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (CICA) in Gimpo, South Korea. She has been recognized by Musée Magazine’s “Woman Crush Wednesday,” Fraction Magazine, and Porridge Magazine.


Swank is a founding member of Zero Space Collective, a contemporary artist collective with a network across the US. Zero Space strives to make space for underrepresented artists and serve as an equitable and accessible resource. Since it’s founding in 2020, Swank has assisted in developing the collective as well as curating and organizing exhibitions and digital promotions for artists.


Swank earned her MFA from Clemson University in Visual Arts and BA from Anderson University. An artist and educator, Swank has taught and led numerous classes, workshops and panel discussions across the Southeast. She has gained funding for her work from a number of local institutions, including the South Carolina Arts Commission and Metropolitan Arts Council. Swank is currently an Assistant Professor of Art and Gallery Coordinator at the South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University.





"My work is a meditation on the significance of labor and the body in a time increasingly shaped by automation and post-biological ideals. Composed of photographs, sculptures and installation work, these pieces represent an extension of my own body, detached from myself. By deconstructing and reassembling my own form, the work poses questions about autonomy, identity, replication and the significance of the body in the digital age. Through repetitive processes and actions, I think of my labor in creating this work as a form of reclamation over the body and an act of resistance against how information technology shapes identity. While the work is not directly performative, I consider the labor embedded in the making of these works as a kind of quiet performance. Constructing the work involves the use of remnants from myself and others, in addition to materials that reference the body, such as silicone, to create forms that feel both familiar and estranged. The interplay between organic and synthetic forms function as a metaphor for the increasingly blurred boundary between humans and machines. By utilizing various methods of self-extension, fragmentation, and recontextualization, the meditative process of composing these forms becomes a method of self-reflection and an act of reclamation over the body and self as a human."




Tell us a little about yourself (where you are from) and your background in the arts.

I’m from Greenville, SC and am currently based here as well. I received my BA from Anderson University, and MFA from Clemson University.


During my time in grad school, I co-founded the art collective Zero Space Collective, which now has a network across the US. We strive to make space for underrepresented artists and serve as an accessible resource. That's a huge source of community for me right now, which I think is so important in any art practice. Look us up - we’d love to connect with other artists!


What kind of work are you currently making?

I've been focusing on a lot of my sculpture work the past couple of years, and expanding upon the materials I'm using. Right now I'm finishing up an installation entitled "The Cloud" that I started during a residency with Plexus Projects this summer. The piece will be a suspended installation of cloud-like forms constructed of foam and dryer lint that includes LED strip lights. As viewers walk under the installation, the lights will be triggered to set off a lightning pattern. The dryer lint is an extension of our physical detritus, and resembles how data operates in the digital world. Designed to be interactive, the storm can only be triggered by the physical presence of the body, and viewer interaction.


What is a day like in the studio for you?

It definitely changes depending on the season. During the summer when I’m not teaching, I’m in my studio full time making new work. I have different stations set up in my studio, and am usually working on several projects at once. When silicone is curing in one area, I can be stitching in another, etc. Having multiple projects actually helps keep me focused because my brain can bounce from one task to the next.


During the academic year, I balance being in my studio with my teaching schedule. But, I’m still submitting applications, reading, and in my sketchbook. And I consider all of this still part of my studio practice!


What are you looking at right now and/or reading?

I just finished two books that I really enjoyed! One of them was a book my friend lent me, called Hum by Helen Phillips. The other is called Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty. I listened to this one as an audiobook in my studio, and it was fascinating. Now,


I’m currently picking back up the book Alone Together, by Sherry Turkle. I normally choose books that inform my studio practice, or are adjacent in some way. TV shows and movies are where I let my brain escape a bit more, but everything ends up influencing my work in some way in the end.


Where can we find more of your work? (ex. website/insta/gallery/upcoming shows)













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