Liquid Magazine

Artist of the Month:
Jessica Goldfinch

Rick Heno

How many times have you watched television and while flipping through channels you come across those medical shows in which doctors are performing operations? How many times have you been disgusted and shocked at what you have seen but continue to watch in total fascination? The feeling that I described closely coincides with the work of this month's artist, Jessica Goldfinch.

Jessica was born in New Orleans at Terrell Hospital Uptown and had her first art class at an early age of three years old. Being a rebellious teen, as many are, she dropped out of high school during the tenth grade but eventually went back to earn her GED. She then earned a degree in Offset Printing/Graphics from Delgado College. Before long she earned a double major from UNO in Fine Arts sculpture, Sociology and is now getting ready to complete her Masters Degree. Boy…. just writing about all that work made me tired.

Jessica has experienced the benefits of traveling during her lifetime by visiting Asia twice and Central America countless times. From each trip she had literally expanded her horizons along with her sensibility on life and art. She is interested in the differences in social cultures and the importance of each. Jessica is also fascinated with the practices of forensic medicine and the characteristics that go along with it. When I asked Jessica how she would best describe her art, she replied, "It's an investigation of what makes us each an individual and what happens to us when we pass away." A fine example would be a piece in which she took large glass jars, surrounded by an exterior mold of a baby's dress, and filled the interior with something that relates to death or illness. Pills, toy soldiers, and models of abandoned houses are a few examples of what you might find in these jars. Other pieces of work include resin filled I.V. tubes with paper sperm in the middle or resin filled plastic sandwich bags with miscellaneous found objects.

Jessica has the ability to capture her viewers with objects of disturbing qualities found in forensic science and then releases the viewers into a realm of an appreciation for life, love and the world. You may find out more about Jessica's work online at www,jessicagoldfinch.com Also, be sure to check out her MFA thesis exhibition opening on the evening of March 15th at the University of New Orleans fine arts department. The show runs from the 10th to the 28th.
What is Jessica's favorite Liquid? Maker's Mark Whiskey/ High Life (The Champagne of Beers).