ARTIST STATEMENT

Jessica is a British-Australian artist based in Brighton, UK. Her work draws from a deep fascination with mythology, history, and the stories that shape human understanding of the world. Blending classical figurative painting with pop aesthetics, she creates visual dialogues between the ancient and the contemporary, the organic and the manufactured.

With a background spanning classical studies, environmental policy, and data systems, Jessica is particularly interested in how civilisations inscribe meaning onto the objects they create—whether sacred relics, digital artefacts, or mass-produced consumer goods.

By weaving together elements from classical iconography, natural forms, and the language of modern visual culture, she invites reflection on what is lost, preserved, or transformed as stories pass through time.

Jessica has exhibited in both Australia and the UK, with her first solo show in Brighton in 2024. Her work was shortlisted for the Wales Contemporary in 2022 and longlisted for the Women in Art Prize in 2023 and 2024.

ArtCan Member Artist

Current Exhibitions

July 7 - 27 ‘Vibrancy’ Artcan Residency Angel Central, London.

Selected Past Exhibitions and Competitions

  • ‘Time is the Real Currency’ Mid Street Lab Gallery, Brighton.

  • Jackson’s Art Prize 2025, extended longlist

  • Transport for London, Colleague art exhibition, Corporate Offices, October, 2024.

  • Women in Art Prize 2024, pre selected

  • ‘From Florence to Pop’ Solo Show. 12 May to 7 June 2024, Yellow Book (in collaboration with Sweet Venues Brighton)

  • ‘AIR Open’(online exhibition), AIR Gallery website https://www.artsteps.com/view/64b7ce720fb6add0eb0b4c08/?currentUser

  • ‘Take Time’ Ilkley Manor House, Ilkley UK 16 September to 15 October 2023.

  • Thamesside Studios Open Exhibition, Thamesside Studio Gallery, London. June 2023.

  • Women in Art Prize 2023, pre selected

  • Wales Contemporary Competition 2022 shortlist, Waterfront Gallery, Milford Haven (October - November) Gallery@oxo, London 30 November to 4 December 2022.

  • A Night at the Museum, Fortyone gallery, Sydney, Australia, July 2019

  • May the Fourth Be With You, Fortyone gallery, Sydney, Australia, May 2019

Media

‘HAUS-A-REST’ Zine Issue 41 - Ageing - September 2023 https://www.haus-a-rest.com/new-page-45

‘Art Talk’ Podcast Interview - 13 May 2023 Apple YouTube Spotify

Education

  • 1:1 Mentoring - Catherine Bobkowski April - November 2022

  • 6 week intensive workshop - Florence Academy of Art February - March 2022

instagram @jessicasheehan_artist

"Pontomedon, Lord of the Sea" has made it through to the Longlist of the @womeninartprize_ Fingers crossed for the next round 🤞🌊🔱 #womeninartprize #womeninartprize2025 #brightonartist #buyart #newpainting #environmentalart
A few months ago we drove to Corfe Castle in Dorset. I was taken by a collapsed wall I saw there. Despite the solidness of stone and devastation from the civil war, nature had long claimed the structures back to her own. I also had the great fortun
"Materia Medica" 2025. Oil and acrylic on stretched linen, 30 x 30cm. A handwritten herbal recipe book, a diary of poems, a rose, and an empty glass bottle waiting to be filled. A second painting from my herbalism mini series. Now availa
The process behind my painting 'POP Fruits' - the inspiration, the doing, and the unofficial full stop at the end - the varnishing! The painting will be in London for the next few weeks as part of the @artcanorg "Vibrancy" exhibition, Ang
Snapshot and footage from the @artcanorg postcard fundraiser last night in London ✨️ . My piece "Jasmine, Bottled" alongside work by @jessicadunnartist and @jenniesharmancox. There are still postcards available for sale via @artcanorg. Inc
My little canvas postcard "Jasmine, bottled" (15 x 10 cm oil, acrylic on canvas board) will be for sale next Wednesday at the "From artcan with love" fundraiser. As a new member, this is my first postcard event with @artcanorg ?
Still shot of "Medicine Jars" 2025, oil and acrylic on stretched canvas, 30 x 30cm. Natural objects, dried and stored in glass jars. A rose is different when fresh versus when dried. I doubt whether we can really bottle nature, but we do