Jill Orr facts for kids

Jill Orr (born in 1952) is a modern artist from Melbourne, Australia. Her artworks have been shown all over the world. She is known for her unique performances, photographs, videos, and art installations.

About Jill Orr's Life and Learning

Jill Orr was born in 1952. She studied art and craft teaching in Melbourne, finishing in 1975. Later, she earned a Master's degree in Fine Art from RMIT University in 1994. In 2006, she started her PhD studies in Art and Design at Monash University.

Jill Orr's Art Style

Jill Orr is famous for her art that includes performance, photography, video, and installations. These works often explore the human body. She looks at how our bodies fit into social, political, and environmental situations.

Many of Orr's works are site-specific. This means they are created for a certain place. The recordings of her performances are also a very important part of her art.

Her Artistic Journey

In the 1970s or 1980s, Jill Orr was an artist-in-residence in Adelaide. This means she was given a place to live and work there. The Women's Art Movement in Adelaide supported her during this time.

Where Her Art Has Been Shown

Since the late 1970s, Jill Orr's art has been shown in many cities. These include Paris, Beijing, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Antwerp, New York, and Toronto. Her art has also been seen in major Australian cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane.

Her artworks are part of important public collections. These include the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria. Many of her pieces are also owned by private collectors. These collections are in Australia, the Netherlands, England, France, the United States, China, and Belgium.

Important Artworks

Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters – Goya

This performance was shown in Sydney (2002) and Melbourne (2003). The title comes from an etching by a famous artist named Goya. Goya was known for showing the extreme parts of human life.

Jill Orr's performance looked at the world after the events of September 11. It also touched on the start of the war in Iraq. The work also referred to the difficult situation of refugees. The performance showed how different beliefs can lead to conflict.

The artwork had two dark rooms. One room showed shadowy images on a screen. The other room had four paintings that glowed in the dark. The lighting in this room changed. It went from dim spotlights to total darkness for 60 seconds. During the dark times, only the glowing paintings could be seen.

Jill Orr became part of the art installation herself. She moved around the rooms, putting together bones into sculptures. Some of these bones became decorations for her body. This performance lasted for twelve hours. She used animal remains to create sculptures. Orr chose animal remains to show a connection to our own bodies. She also wanted to highlight how we see difficult human suffering in the media every day.

The Southern Cross: to Bear and Behold (2009)

This is another significant work by Jill Orr.