Born in Manila, Philippines in 1981 and raised on the unceeded land of the Dharug peoples in what is now known as Australia, Jennifer Oh is a visual artist working primarily in ceramics based partly in Rome, the UK and Gadigal. 

She received a Media and Communications degree from Macquarie University in 2001 and worked in the media industry for a decade before eventually exhibiting as an artist in 2021.Her practice is focused on developing a sculptural language that moves between object and talismanic form; and her work draws on her transnational background, reflecting on the systems, environments, and experiences that govern the spaces she inhabits.

Throughout her practice, Jennifer has undertaken numerous wholesale and private commissions for small independent boutiques and art gift shops worldwide, creating bespoke tableware and home decor for stores in the United States, Denmark, Italy and Australia. 

In 2023, Oh received a Highly Commended nod in the Ceramics Arts Queensland Siliceous Award for Ceramic Excellence for her piece titled The Long Tether. 2024 marked her debut double solo exhibitions Tow The Line I and II with Michael Reid Galleries in Murrurundi and Southern Highlands,respectively. In 2026, she exhibited for the third time a solo show titled Hold The Line with Michael Reid Murrurundi, continuing the dialogue she began there two years prior. 

Meanwhile she has also exhibited in various group shows in Australia, the USA, UK, and Europe. She is currently working in Europe and has recently completed her second residency at Gasworks Creative Precinct in Melbourne in 2025. She continues to divide her time in both Europe and Australia maintaining connections with the artistic communities across both hemispheres via stockists, residencies and exhibitions.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Inventing Rituals and Creating Meaning Out of the Absurd

As a creator working in three dimensions, I prefer to consider my works as investigations into form and function. My interest lies in our predilection to engage in ritual with objects around us and attribute emblematic properties to them, whether they be extraordinary, banal or personal. Visually my work relies heavily on the use of geometric form and line which I view are the precursors and fundamental building blocks to visual communication and symbolism.

My ceramic work has always been informed by both the multiplicity of my background and my individual and at times indirect responses to the various stimuli of the built environment around me. My work is rooted in the traditional aspects of the craft in terms of technique and construction, although what I find is that, it’s ultimately the interaction between human and artefact that cultivates meaning, whether it be the artist as maker or the public as viewer. I continuously ask the question, how do these mere objects become imbued with value and meaning thus transforming them into our talismans for modern life?

The talismanic aspect of my pieces originates from my Filipino background where amulets or charms known as ‘anting-anting’ (in Tagalog) are associated with folkloristic culture and are closely intertwined with devout Catholic belief systems and iconography assimilated and absorbed through colonialism; like moraine to a glacier. The object becomes suffused with meaning, power and a magical potency that perhaps only the bearer of the talisman may know but bestows them with strength, protection or invincibility. Likewise, my body work thus far seeks to invite viewers and bearers to infuse meaning and potency to these objects to hold space for reflection, connection and the rituals we forge to overcome the everyday.

My recent investigations have taken inspiration from Op Art, Memphis and the dazzle camouflage of the World Wars which has led me to create a collection of works with strong totemic forms decorated with lines. The resulting series titled Tow The Line references the initial nautical inspiration for the works, taken from the dazzle ships that first appeared in WWI coupled with a play on the phrase ‘toe the line’ questioning our ideas of conformity and compliance. Stripes as a motif, with their medieval connotations of deviance have taken a journey towards more ambiguous realms that perhaps these days conjure up sartorial playfulness or seaside gaiety.

With my future work, I seek to continue my investigations into form, taking cues from architecture and the built environment, perhaps incorporating natural worlds too while delving deeper into topics that concern my personal experience as an immigrant, working through issues of colonialism and its consequences.