project babel ― jennifer marshall

Handmark artist, Jennifer Marshall, is thrilled to be the only Australian invited to participate in the significant international collaboration, Project Babel.

An initiative of the Jyvaskylan Gallery in Finland, printmakers from 19 countries will re-interpret the Tower of Babel by Pieter Brueghel, the Elder.  For the project, this famous image has been cut into 313 segments, one for each artist. Exploring themes of communication and collaboration, the printmakers will reinterpret their slice of Brueghel’s painting, before the segments are joined back together, and unveiled in mid-December.

So, what will this new Babel look like? “I have absolutely no idea,” Jennifer admits, “every printmaker will bring their own unique interpretation.” The Old Testament parable about the Tower of Babel, warns of confusion and destruction wrought by people speaking in many different languages, “so I think it’s likely we may see that plight of refugees featuring.”

For her own piece of Babel, Jennifer was allocated a small segment of sky, but added “an avenging angel who is presented as responsible for the destruction of Babel. It is certainly the most unusual collaboration I have ever been involved with, and what it will look like when it’s finished is anybody’s guess.”