Jillian McDonald is a

conceptual artist Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional Aesthetics, aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes ca ...

and curator from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, living in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Her work is meant to be humorous and features references to popular

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

s. She uses

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting ...

net art upright=1.3, "Simple Net Art Diagram", a 1997 work by Michael Sarff and Tim Whidden Internet art (also known as net art) is a form of new media art distributed via the Internet. This form of art circumvents the traditional dominance of the phys ...

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

, installations, and

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

. Her interests are the American

celebrity culture Celebrity culture is a high-volume exposure to celebrities' personal lives on a global scale. It is inherently tied to consumer interests where celebrities transform their fame to become product brands. Whereas a culture can usually be physically ...

, extreme

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

, themes and characters from

horror films Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoc ...

. Recent work includes

zombies A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in wh ...

, the

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated b ...

masks A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and pract ...

, and

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

experiences, and is often set in northern landscapes such as . In her best-known works she digitally manipulated romantic scenes from Hollywood films starring actors such as

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born 1961) is an American actor and director. He has had supporting roles in films such as ''Arizona Dream'' (1993), ''The House of the Spirits'' (1993), ''Palookaville'' (1995), and '' The Funeral'' (1996). His lead roles include ...

, and

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...

, investigating celebrity obsession. In ''The Screaming'', she inserted herself into

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

s such as '' The Shining'' and ''

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

'', screaming at the

monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

s to scare them away or destroy them. In ''Horror Makeup'', she applies makeup on a subway commute, turning herself into a

zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...

Exhibitions

Her 2013 ''Valley of the Deer'' installation features a 3-channel video, augmented reality, and drawings created during th
Glenfiddich International Artist Residency
It stars residents of Dufftown and other Northern Scottish towns. * Centre Clark, "Valley of the Deer", Montreal, Canada (2015) * UWAG, University of Waterloo Art Gallery, "Valley of the Deer", Waterloo, Canada (2015) * Esker Foundation, "Valley of the Deer", Calgary, Canada (2013) * Hallwalls, ‘’RedRum", Buffalo, NY (2010) * Arizona State University Museum, "Alone Together in the Dark", Tempe, AZ (2009 - 2010) * Lilith Performance Studio, "Undead in the Night", Malmo, Sweden (2009)http://lilithperformancestudio.com/?archivemain=jillian-mcdonald-can

References

External links

Official website
* ttp://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/valley-of-the-deer-1.1471349?autoplay=true Radio documentary, ''Valley of the Deer'', by Paul Kennedy on CBC's ''Ideas''br>Interview on ''WPS1 Radio'' by Daniel Durning''The Transatlantic Zombie'' by Sarah J. Lauro''Deconstructung Brad Pitt'', ed. by Christopher Schaberg and Robert Bennett''Getting to Know Zombies'' by Kristen Hutchinson for ''Hyperallergic''
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Jillian Canadian performance artists Women performance artists Canadian video artists Women video artists Artists from Winnipeg Canadian women artists Living people Canadian expatriates in the United States Year of birth missing (living people)