Jessica Campbell’s satirical drawings, comics and textiles take aim at everyday experiences that reveal the sexism women have faced throughout history and especially today. Drawing from a wide range of influences including science fiction, art-world politics and her evangelical upbringing, she infuses her work with humor and vulnerability. Her upcoming Chicago Works show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago will illuminate the life and times of trailblazing Canadian artist Emily Carr in contrast to pivotal moments in Campbell’s life.

Campbell’s recent carpet paintings from her 2018 show at Western Exhibitions tackle her (and our) obsession with smart phones. Campbell did not acquire a cell phone until 2013. Since then she’s grappled with how this now ubiquitous device has changed her life and how it has altered the way our society functions. The paintings (collaged-together carpet remnants) depict specific narratives: a cabbie watching porn while he drives; a bikini selfie on a broken phone screen; Campbell watching a movie on a phone while on a StairMaster at the gym. Often using comedic tropes as her subject matter, Campbell sees humour as a tool to help her process what is happening in the world. In an interview with Amy Lockhart, Campbell relays that “I’ve been reconsidering past events in my life that were traumatic that I’ve now mentally recast as funny. Humour can make some trauma bearable.”

Jessica Campbell is a Canadian artist and humourist based in Chicago, working in comics, fibres, painting, drawing and performance. Her Chicago Works show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago opens on December 18 and runs through July 7, 2019. Her graphic novel XTC69 was reviewed in Publishers Weekly, The Comics Beat, and The Comics Journal; her 2016 graphic novel Hot or Not: 20th Century Male Artists was reviewed by Hyperallergic and Comic Alliance: both are published by Koyama Press. She has had solo and two-person exhibitions in Chicago at Roots & Culture and Sub-Mission and at La Galerie Laroche/Joncas in Montreal. Her work has been included in group shows throughout the Midwest and Quebec, including Monique Meloche in Chicago.