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interest to Jandrell, and one that she continues to explore in her photographs of constructed
leisure environments around the world. Of her work she has said
‘When photographing places like theme parks, which exist within the realm of tourism, I wish to
reintroduce some of the real by juxtaposing the fake environment with the reality not only outside
its fence but the reality of people’s interaction with the place…The cultural ritual of the “holiday
snapshot”, for example, often highlights the gulf between the economic realities of the lives of the
people involved and the economic aspirations of the theme park.’
Shot on location in popular local and international attractions in different countries around the
world, Mandy Lee Jandrell's work reflects on our enduring emotional investment in utopian
dreams of paradise.
Mandy Lee Jandrell scours the constructed leisure environment – wildlife parks, zoos, botanical
gardens, historical recreations and theme parks – for her subject matter, exploring the pre-
packaging of our perceptions of the ‘real’ and the belief systems that sustain them. Her
photographs bring into focus the mutually dependent nature of ideologies and cultural practices,
where leisure environments are constructed to appeal to the aspirations of the economic and
ideological systems with which they are intertwined.
She is currently working on a series entitled “Eidyllion”, exploring presentations of the idyllic
landscape within these environments. The discordant images which result point to a
disharmonious relationship between man and nature. Nature is tidied up, contained, controlled
and owned. For this series her inspiration has come not only from the environments in which she
photographs but also landscape painting, in particular 17th Century Dutch Landscapes and those
post-industrial revolution, John Constable and the Barbizon School Realists based in France in the
late 19th Century (Theodore Rousseau, Jean-Francois Miller, and Corot), whose representations of
the nature and the rural allude to a culturally tainted viewing of it.
Jandrell’s mode of operation veers between the amateur snapshot, evoking the engrained
practices of cultural tourism, and the apparently more objective full frontal gaze of the
professional documentary photographer. The casual humour of her work toys with our unblinking
acceptance of these pictorial languages.
2003 MA Fine Art Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK
1998 BA Fine Art (Hons) Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, South Africa
1993 Matriculation National School of the Arts, Johannesburg, South Africa
Selected Exhibitions
2006 Zoo Art Fair, Bearspace, London Zoo, London, UK
2006 Real, Fake and Imagined, Permanent Gallery Projects, Brighton, UK
2006 Hearing voices/Seeing things, Serpentine Gallery, London, UK
2006 Hearing voices/Seeing things, Poster, Platform for Art, London Underground, London, UK
2006 New Utopia, Bearspace, Deptford, London, UK
2006 8x8x8 MSP/NYC/LON, The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, USA
2006 Green, Winchester Gallery, University of Southhampton, Winchester, UK
2005 Summer Show, Royal Academy, London, UK
2005 Mooimarkshow Wien-Johannesburg, Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna, Austria
2005 Safari, (Solo) Bearspace, Deptford, London, UK
2005 London Now, The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
2004 Where the Grass is Green, (Solo), Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, UK
2004 Cindarella, curated by Trailer, Bermondsey, London, UK
2004 10 Downing St, Government Art Collection, Westminster, London, UK
2004 X-hibition, Stephen Lawrence Gallery, University of Greenwich, London, UK
2004 East End Academy, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
2004 Sneeze, Arch Gallery, London, UK
2004 Take Photo Here, (Solo) Joao Ferreira Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2003 Reduced, Century Gallery, London, UK
2003 Godzilla, curated by Trailer, Islington, London, UK
2003 Arrivals, Pumphouse Gallery, Battersea, London, UK
2003 MA Graduate show, Goldsmiths College, London, UK
2002 Alles Moeglich, Atelier Gemeinschaft, Muenster, Germany
2002 5, Cassland No. 5, London, UK
2001 Inside Space Gallery. Selfridges, London, UK
2001 Topography: Southern African photography, Zimbabwe National Gallery,Zimbabwe
2000 Soft Serve 2. The South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
1999 100xc Photography Festival. Cape Town, South Africa
1998 Sandwich, curated by Stefan Saffer, Brick Lane, London, UK
1997 Michaelis School of Fine Art Graduate show, Cape Town, South Africa
1997 Sleuth/ Rixdollar. Graft, The 2nd Johannesburg Biennale, South Africa
1996 Sluice. The Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa
1996 Drive By/ Ice. The Planet Contemporary Art Site, Cape Town, South Africa
Awards
2004 Arts Council Grant, Arts Council England, UK
1997 Deans List, University of Cape Town, South Africa, for distinction in Fine Art.
1995 MacIver Scholarship, University of Cape Town, South Africa
1994-6 Merit scholarships, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Collections
Private collections, UK, SA
Government Art Collection, UK
University of Warwick, UK
Publications
2006 Brighton Photo Fringe, “Real, Fake and Imagined”, Catalogue, October
2006 Serpentine Gallery, “Hearing Voices/Seeing Things”, Project Publication, September
2006 Dazed and Confused, “Hearing Voices/Seeing Things”, ed. C Geogh, September
2006 Fleisch, “Take Photo Here”, Pg 60-68, no 4, eds. Huber& Treichler, Austria, July
2005 Art South Africa,“Pretty as a picture”, J. Van Eeden pg 54-57, ed S. O’Toole, June
2005 Creative Weekly, “Safari” review by Mark Bell, pg 33, 7 March 2005
2004 The Guardian, The Guide “Mandy Lee Jandrell” by Robert Clark, 6 Nov 2004, UK
2004 Flash Art, “East End Academy” review, Nov 2004, Italy
2004 ArtPreview, cover image and “Top 20 Must-see international art shows” Nov 2004, UK
2004 Art Monthly, “East End Academy” review, July-Aug 2004, UK
2004 Arena, Agenda “Leisure time in Hell” pg 70 September 2004, London, UK
2004 X-hibition, Catalogue, Stephen Lawrence Gallery, Univ of Greenwich, London, UK
2004 East End Academy 2004, Catalogue, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
2004 Sneeze, Catalogue, Arch Gallery, London, UK
2004 Dazed and Confused, People Power:Durban Rikshaws, July 2004, ed. C. Geogh, UK
2004 Itch, issue 1, China Folk Culture Villages, ed. Mehita Iqani, SA
2004 Art South Africa, Review: Take Photo Here: March 2004, ed. Sophie Perryer, SA
2004 Contemporary, Highlights, issue 60, pg 19, ed, Brian Muller, London, U.K
2004 Mail&Guardian, Arts, “Pick of the week” Feb 6-12 2004, South Africa
2003 The Idler, no 32 ed, Tom Hodgkinson, London, U.K.
2003 Goldsmiths MA Fine Art Catalogue, Goldsmiths College, London, U.K.
2002 5, 5 Cassland, London, U.K.
1999 Limb by Limb, ed , U.K.
1997 Trade Routes: 2nd Johannesburg Biennale, ed: Okwui Enwezor, South Africa
Websites
www.mandyleejandrell.info
www.serpentinegallery.org/projects/
www.creativeweek.co.uk/pdfs/CW-online_Sep_06.pdf
www.permanentgallery.com
www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/arts/platform-for-art/artists/hearing-voices-seeing-things.asp
www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.info/ ins/my/kua/kue/bku/enindex.htm
www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/exhibitions/story/0,,1343691,00.html
www.gac.culture.gov.uk/search/Artist.asp?maker_id=130031
www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/press/releases.html?page=press/releasesArchive.html
www.whitechapel.org/content.php?page_id=845
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1242942,00.html
www.re-title.com/artists/MandyLee-Jandrell.asp
www.trailerart.net/artists.htm
www.creativeweek.co.uk/pdfs/CW-online_Mar_05.pdf
www.artthrob.co.za/04feb/reviews/joao.html
www.bowieart.com (2004)
www.gold.ac.uk/visual-arts/ exhibitions/archive/mafa2003/index.html
www.photocentre.org.za/topography_body.htm (2000)