JENNIFER FLINT
Concrete Canvas 2022: Community Group - Safety Team Jennifer Says “I drew inspiration from the idea that "Safety is not the absence of threat, it is the presence of connection". I literally represented a connection from a male head to the female which serves to stress that the responsibility of women's safety lies not with the woman but with those who commit harm. It is also a positive message of being able to make improvements to women's safety through male empathy and education. The maze in the female head represents the mental load that women feel in order to keep themselves safe. Whether this is changing behaviour such as taking alternative routes, carrying an alarm, crossing into brighter spaces, not going out, taking a taxi etc etc. It also represents the infringement of womens' freedom; the walls of a maze forcing a path of action whilst also encountering many dead ends and obstacles. The floral pattern and mazes around the two silhouettes represents the support of the community. It is a utopian image of empathy, connection within our neighbourhood.
Concrete Canvas 2023: All of the designs created for the CCTV bases were informed by information provided by the Community Safety Team. It is fascinating to see how 6 artists with the same brief have taken their artwork in different directions. Jennifer’s design looks like flowers but on closer inspection each flower is actually a series of eyeballs. Jennifer had read a study which said that displaying images of eyes causes people to behave more pro-socially in a variety of contexts.
Artists Profile: Jennifer Flint is a local freelance, artist, illustrator and owner of Original Creative Work. She studied illustration at the Universities of Lincoln and Westminster before setting up her own business as an illustration agent. Today she works as a mixed media artist and teacher. In the past few years, she has felt incredibly inspired by the local community, selling artworks of the Chelmsford area in The Art Place, working on a variety of local art projects and is passionate about bringing arts to the community. She hosts a variety of workshops for all ages and abilities.