Jennifer Mann is a sculptor based in the Macedon Ranges near Melbourne, Australia. Her body of work focuses on figurative sculpture and portraiture, working in a range of media, but most often in terracotta, bronze and marble.
SCULPTURE COMMISSIONS
Jennifer has commissioned works on permanent public display and in private collections in Australia and Italy.
A larger than life-sized bronze sculpture of jockey Hugh Cairns was installed at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne in 2004. A second edition was created and installed at the Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney in 2014.
A bronze sculpture of the Winged Victory, Nike, commissioned by the University of Melbourne in 2009, is installed at the University’s ceremonial Wilson Hall.
MARBLE CARVING
For the past several years Jennifer has spent time in Italy working on specific sculpting techniques such as traditional terracotta sculpting in Florence, and marble carving in Pietrasanta, near Carrara.
Drape: Carrara white marble.
Venus Emerging: Carrara white marble.
PORTRAITS
Jennifer’s portraiture is driven by the challenge of capturing the essence or inner psychology of the person being sculpted, something that has always fascinated her, as does the study of faces generally.
Portrait in patinated plaster.
Commissioned portrait in terracotta.
FORENSIC FACIAL RECONSTRUCTION
Jennifer studied forensic facial reconstruction sculpture in 2014 and 2016 under Karen T. Taylor, a leading expert in forensic facial sculpture in the U.S.
The training was provided at the Forensic Anthropology Centre at Texas State University, and involved learning how to recreate a facial approximation of a person in life from a skull.
This required intense study of facial anatomy which is also important to the practice of portrait sculpting. The skills that Jennifer developed during this highly specialised training are used in the areas of forensic crime and historical cases.
In 2016, Jennifer completed a facial reconstruction sculpture of an ancient Egyptian mummy for the University of Melbourne.
The completed reconstruction, along with a 3D print of the skull and the actual ancient mummified head, are on permanent display in the Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology at the University of Melbourne.
‘Meritamun’
Further information about the ‘Meritamun’ project may be found at the following links:
ABC Radio National Article: Forensic Egyptology Mummy Returns
ABC Radio National Podcast: The Mummy Returns
University of Melbourne Pursuit Article: Brought to Life, 2000 Years Later
University of Melbourne YouTube Video: A face from the past: Restoring a mummy
TedxSydney Salon November 2016: How to be Faithful to a Face – Reconstructing an Egyptian Mummy