At PICA we recognise that we are situated within the unceded lands of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation. We pay our respects and offer our gratitude to Elders past and present. We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the importance of their care and continued connection to culture, community and Country.

Always was, always will be.

Galleries are open 12–5pm. Our exhibitions are always free.

Jess van Heerden

Quick Response Residency

Quick Response Residency

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY DO NOT BREAK GLASS imagines a world where the Australian Government (at last) decides to act upon the climate crisis. Each adult of working age is designated a fish to look after until the ocean-cum-boiler situation is under control. 

During their residency Jess van Heerden will develop a series of paintings, prose and verses that document the trials and tribulations of a fish and his person. Insufficiently equipped with a slim instruction manual, 20c per week water subsidy, and growing sense of scepticism, they struggle to adjust to this new way of living. Through developing this playful body of work, van Heerden invites consideration into the framing of agency within current government ‘solutions’ and responses to the climate crisis. 

About the artist

Jess van Heerden is a Boorloo-based emerging artist. Their multimodal practice encompasses art writing, poetics, papier-mâché, installation, textiles and painting. They consider, one project at a time, the looming question of how to take up space as a contemporary person. Rather than telling stories (which they feel they are still collecting), they create to process the competing sensations that characterise this charged and fluctuating moment. This necessarily makes social commentary an important part of van Heerden’s practice. Their making and thinking are informed by the tendency for ‘unfixing’ that they have inherited as a queer and genderqueer person. 

Jess frequently writes about art, most often in review formats for Dispatch Review (where they are an editor) and Artist Chronicle. Jess has been part of several exhibitions including Cake Crumbs Forgotten Fountain ARI, Perth (2024); Un, Cullity Gallery, Perth (2023); FAM+ Graduate Show, University of Western Australia, Perth (2023); Au Natural, Ellis House Art Centre, Perth (2023); AIPShit x Plastic Jungle, Naval Store, Fremantle (2023); and Cool Girls, YMCA, Perth (2023).  

Supporters

PICA’s Studio Program is supported by PICA’s Art Ambassadors.