Mixed media on paper
105 x 157.5 cm

Jenny Herbert-Smith’s recent work emerged during a drawing workshop in a vast industrial space in Portland, NSW. Working directly on the floor, she instinctively expanded the scale—taping together multiple sheets of paper in response to the open architecture and the physicality of the space. As a sculptor, Herbert-Smith is accustomed to working in the round, and she brought that same spatial awareness to drawing: circling the work, responding intuitively to mark, texture, and rhythm.

The process was entirely exploratory. With no fixed plan, she allowed the drawing to evolve through movement and gesture. A head-like form—suggestive of a skull—surfaced unexpectedly. Though unplanned, it quickly captured her attention. After setting the piece aside for several months, she returned to it and found the skull had become central—unavoidable in both presence and symbolism.

The work, titled Can’t Get You Out of My Head, references a track by Electric Light Orchestra that played often during its creation. More than a nod to the soundtrack, the title speaks to the image’s persistent, almost haunting presence.

Herbert-Smith’s practice explores the shifting boundary between abstraction and figuration. She uses drawing as a space for bodily engagement and intuitive response, privileging process over outcome. Whether working in sculpture or works on paper, she remains deeply interested in how form emerges—slowly, unexpectedly—through physical interaction with materials.

Image: Brenton McGeachie