The Second Tasting

The Second Tasting presents a series of fineliner pen and copic marker drawings that explore the interplay between the act of living and the creation of art. The drawings return to past events with attentive reflection; slowly developed over time, both physically and conceptually. These visual narratives celebrate moments shared with others and also hold reverence for spaces of solitude.

Rooke approaches drawing as a diaristic process, using this medium as a space to perform the private self to a public audience. Many of the smaller works in this exhibition have been drawn from experiences and imagery recorded during her travels in Northern Europe over 2019-2020, including a 3 month stay at SÍM Residency. These works mingle with more recent moments, forming a body of work that invites contemplation of transient moments and the subtle shifts of time within our personal environments.

Reflections and windows, a sense of looking in or looking out, are a common motif throughout the drawings. Rooke carefully studies the reflections and colours in a vase of flowers or a mirror, marking the subtle transition of daylight or the glow of artificial light. Often referencing photos in her process, the act of drawing is a means to properly see the scene and learn about the moment as she comes back over a number of sessions to observe and work out her depiction.

While Rooke’s drawings often focus on self-perception and how we show ourselves through our surroundings, we see that friends also begin to enter the compositions. How do we see ourselves in our own personal space and how do we see ourselves among others? Viewers are invited to share the artist’s perspective and also witness the process of looking at oneself.

Jennifer Rooke (b. 1990) is an artist from Melbourne/Naarm, Australia who holds a Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) from Monash University and a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art) from RMIT University. Her practice centres around the medium of drawing but she experiments and works with painting, printmaking, installation and performance.

Rooke has participated in residency programs at Arteles Creative Center, Finland; SÍM Residency, Iceland; and Cradle Mountain Wilderness Gallery, Australia. Her solo exhibitions have included Flatland, NGBE Gallery; A Journal is Written on the Pulse of the Moment, First Site Gallery; Wish you were here…, Mailbox Art Space; and Concealment and Disclosure, Seventh Gallery. She has participated in group exhibitions in Australia and internationally and has self-published colouring books.

Other opening hours:
Friday 23rd August 13:00 – 18:00
Saturday 24th August 12:00 – 17:00
Sunday 25th August 14:00 – 17:00

The event is sponsored by the Culture and Tourism Committee of Hafnarfjordur.