Contour & Core (2025) Collaboration with Jennifer Plourde
Contour & Core explores the intimate architecture of the breast through a sculptural cross-section and beaded mapping of its internal anatomy. One side is clean and dark, a silhouette of external perception; the other, intricate and anatomical, reveals the unseen—lobules, ducts, and connective tissue. Juxtaposing softness with structure, concealment with exposure, the work invites a reconsideration of the breast beyond objectification. The beadwork transforms biological function into ornament, honouring the complexity beneath the surface. Blurring clinical clarity with emotional resonance, this piece resists simplification and asks viewers to witness the breast as a site of tension, tenderness, and layered meaning.
Jennifer Plourde Biography
Jennifer Plourde is a self taught bead artist, a registered massage therapist and a storyteller based in London, Ontario. She is a member of Matachewan First Nation (Ojibwe) and a descendant of French settlers. An emerging artist, she has been playing with fabric and string since childhood. In 2019, she began teaching herself to bead after inheriting her grandmother’s beading supplies. Her works have been featured in several group exhibitions. In 2024, she was awarded an Indigenous Art Project grant from the Ontario Arts Council to create a series of anatomical beaded pieces exploring the question “when I tell the story of my body, where do I start?” Through non-traditional beading styles, Jennifer explores the relationship between the physical anatomy of the body with the stories we tell about our bodies, ourselves and our communities.
Contour & Core explores the intimate architecture of the breast through a sculptural cross-section and beaded mapping of its internal anatomy. One side is clean and dark, a silhouette of external perception; the other, intricate and anatomical, reveals the unseen—lobules, ducts, and connective tissue. Juxtaposing softness with structure, concealment with exposure, the work invites a reconsideration of the breast beyond objectification. The beadwork transforms biological function into ornament, honouring the complexity beneath the surface. Blurring clinical clarity with emotional resonance, this piece resists simplification and asks viewers to witness the breast as a site of tension, tenderness, and layered meaning.
Jennifer Plourde Biography
Jennifer Plourde is a self taught bead artist, a registered massage therapist and a storyteller based in London, Ontario. She is a member of Matachewan First Nation (Ojibwe) and a descendant of French settlers. An emerging artist, she has been playing with fabric and string since childhood. In 2019, she began teaching herself to bead after inheriting her grandmother’s beading supplies. Her works have been featured in several group exhibitions. In 2024, she was awarded an Indigenous Art Project grant from the Ontario Arts Council to create a series of anatomical beaded pieces exploring the question “when I tell the story of my body, where do I start?” Through non-traditional beading styles, Jennifer explores the relationship between the physical anatomy of the body with the stories we tell about our bodies, ourselves and our communities.
Contour & Core explores the intimate architecture of the breast through a sculptural cross-section and beaded mapping of its internal anatomy. One side is clean and dark, a silhouette of external perception; the other, intricate and anatomical, reveals the unseen—lobules, ducts, and connective tissue. Juxtaposing softness with structure, concealment with exposure, the work invites a reconsideration of the breast beyond objectification. The beadwork transforms biological function into ornament, honouring the complexity beneath the surface. Blurring clinical clarity with emotional resonance, this piece resists simplification and asks viewers to witness the breast as a site of tension, tenderness, and layered meaning.
Jennifer Plourde Biography
Jennifer Plourde is a self taught bead artist, a registered massage therapist and a storyteller based in London, Ontario. She is a member of Matachewan First Nation (Ojibwe) and a descendant of French settlers. An emerging artist, she has been playing with fabric and string since childhood. In 2019, she began teaching herself to bead after inheriting her grandmother’s beading supplies. Her works have been featured in several group exhibitions. In 2024, she was awarded an Indigenous Art Project grant from the Ontario Arts Council to create a series of anatomical beaded pieces exploring the question “when I tell the story of my body, where do I start?” Through non-traditional beading styles, Jennifer explores the relationship between the physical anatomy of the body with the stories we tell about our bodies, ourselves and our communities.