Jean-Maree Pool
“Childhood is the sleep of reason.” J-J Rousseau
JME Pool’s work is a mixture of thoughts, memories and moral commentary surrounding the child and childhood. This centres on the idea of primordial evil and weather we are born with this evil inherent within us. Elements of humor and symbolism are an important aspect of JME’s work. Humor works to soften the moral commentary and develop recourse.
One theme that is often apparent is that of the feeling of isolation during adolescence. This is reflected in the appearance of rarely more than one figure in each work.
Although people often see the darker side in JME’s work, it is not all gloom. The characters still have an element of cuteness. The term "Spooky-cute" has been coined to describe her work (Sally Brown- Rave Magazine). Additionally the feeling of hope is always present be it in an image of a bluebird or that of the hope being present in the character eyes. The feeling is never too far away.
Having studied art at the Berkenboom Technical Institute in Belgium, JME has been exhibiting her oils and pastels for many years. Her art is held in private collections in Australia, Belgium and the USA.
JME has participated in numerous exhibitions, was a finalist for the 2006 Artforce Awards and was selected for the 2007 Churchie National Emerging Art Prize. Additionally, her work has been published in various magazines and has been featured nationally on a postcard and CD sleeve
JME Pool- Curriculum Vitae
Biographical Information
1976 Born in Brisbane, Australia
1995 Applied Visual Art- Berkenboom Technical Institute, Belgium
2000 Bachelor of Education- QUT
Solo/Two Person Exhibitions
2009 “Once Upon a Midnight Dreary” (working title), solo exhibition Bundaberg Arts Centre, Bundaberg
2008 “JME Pool”, solo exhibition, Suburban Gallery, Melbourne
2008 “When the Carnival is Over”, solo exhibition, Seaside Artists Gallery, Redcliffe
2007 “Juxtaposition”, BellaArtGallery, SpringfieldLakes
2006 ‘Featured Artist’, Seaside Artists Gallery, Kippa Ring
2006 ‘Featured Artist’, Bella Arts Gallery, SpringfieldLakes
2005 ‘Issues’ Gallery Six Nundah, Brisbane
Selected Group Exhibition
2008 “Autumn” and “Winter” group exhibition, Seaside Artists Gallery, Kippa Ring
2008 “Summer 2008 Group Exhibition”, Paddington Contemporary Fine Art, Sydney
2007 ‘Postcards From the Edge’ James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA
2007 “Nightmare Before Christmas”, KILN Gallery, Brisbane
2007 “Art Shanghai”,(Paddington Contemporary Fine Art)
2007 “Art Sydney 07” (Paddington Contemporary Fine Art)
2007 “So fresh”, Paddington Contemporary Fine Art, Sydney
2007 “Vivid” Basement Gallery, Knoxville, TN, USA
2007 “Across the Board”, Wallspace Gallery, Sydney
2007 The Abused Child Trust, Riverside Centre, Brisbane
2007 “Four Strokes” Bella Arts Gallery, SpringfieldLakes, Ipswich
2007 “Curvy 4”, Touring Exhibition, Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide
2006 ‘REALising’ (Ladyfest), New Farm Art Stockroom, New Farm, Brisbane
2006 ‘Postcards From the Edge’, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, USA
2006 ‘Night of 1000 Drawings’, Artist’s Space, New York, USA
2006 The Abused Child Trust, Riverside Centre, Brisbane
2006 ‘Emergence of Bella’, Bella Arts Gallery, SpringfieldLakes
2005 ‘Loading Zone’ New Farm Art Stockroom, New Farm, Brisbane
2005 Featured Artist, Nundah Art Show, Nundah
Prizes/Commissions/Acquisitions/Public Art
2008 NundahVillage Prize- Emerging Artist- Winner
2008 NundahVillage Art Prize, Portraiture- Honorable Mention
2008 St Sebastian’s Emerging Art Prize, Brisbane- selected
2007 Churchie National Emerging Art Exhibition- selected
2007 Calling All Artists Project, Avant Card, 20,000 postcards printed and distributed Australia-wide
2006 Artforce Awards, Brisbane- finalist
2006 St Sebastian’s Emerging Art Prize, Brisbane- selected
2006 BrisbaneCity Council, Commission
Select Media and Publications
2008 “Hidden Messages” Ronnie Girdham, The Sunday Mail
2008 “Talented Pool back home” Richard Lancaster, Redcliffe and Bayside Herald
2008 “When the Carnival is Over”- Redcliffe City News
2008 “Patchwork Poster”- Blanket Magazine
2008 “Brisbane Traffic Art 1”, Art Book, Queensland Urban Ecology (8 works featured)
2007 “Shanghai catapults artist to spooky heights”, MX Sydney
2007 “Spirited artist draws on a Pool of talent”, Julia Phipps, MX Brisbane
2007 “Brush with Fantasy”, Northside Chronicle
2007 Interview, Benny Holness, Voices Magazine (USA)
2007 Interview, Agency Magazine, (Canada)
2007 “JME Pool AKA JME” Interview, Blanket Magazine
2007 “Complex childhood on canvas” Northern Times
2007 “Life story resonates in Artwork” Lisa Joyce, Springfield News (Cover and feature)
2007 “Curvy 4”, Art Book, Yen Magazine and Paper Tiger Media
2006 “Blue Skies, Shadowy Water”, Simon Mumme, Time Off Magazine
2006 “Art to Lunch”, 4zzz, Radio Interview
2006 “A time to listen”, Art Book, K. Green
2006 Bizoo Magazine- (Cover and feature)
2005 “Canvas the Ideal Place to Air Issues”, Emily Eklund, Northern Chronicle
2005 “You’ve Got Issues Wendy”, Sally Brown, Rave Magazine
Represented by
Bella-Arts Gallery, SpringfieldLakes, QLD
Seaside Artists Gallery, Redcliffe, QLD
Paddington Contemporary Fine Art, Sydney, NSW
Moree Gallery, Moree, NSW
Suburban Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
