Jillian Green: The Upholstered Donkey

Jillian Green, YOKE, 2024, wood, string, wool, 74 × 64cm. Courtesy the artist and Bunbury Regional Art Gallery

Jillian Green’s art practice has become entwined with her relationship with two young donkeys. Jillian dreams of one or the other literally every night, down to the subconscious level firmly being yoked to both. Like all Equines their visual perception is dominated by contrast, light and dark, and therefore shape.

In The Upholstered Donkey, Jillian depicts shapes associated with the boys and their environment. Weaving with wool came to her after a couple of particularly long wet winters. Given donkeys do not have protective oils in their skin, the need to protect from the weather became a concern, shapes of shelter, rugs and coats entered their arena. This occasionally figurative language of soft geometry continues to evolve.