Drawing the Self

Jessalyn Finch merges large-scale drawing and interactive sculpture to explore the complexities of self-perception and identity. Influenced by the intersection of creativity and mindfulness, her work invites reflection on what it means to inhabit a body—particularly one that is constantly shifting, aging, and often felt as unfamiliar or fragmented. Drawing from personal experiences with body dysmorphia, and chronic pain, Finch examines the tension between the body as a vessel of creation and as an unchosen, distorted structure shaped by internal and external scrutiny.

Her current work delves deeper into the concept of body memory—the often unreliable archive of physical experiences and self-image that lingers in our muscles, posture, and emotional responses. Through charcoal drawings that blend anatomical realism with surreal distortion, and interactive cardboard sculptures that extend bodily forms into shared space, Finch gives shape to these hazy, inherited perceptions. In doing so, she asks viewers to consider how past experiences, trauma, and shifting self-awareness influence not only how we see ourselves, but how we move through the world.

Drawings from this collection will be seen in exhibitions: “Reconstructing the Self” Bloomington, MN | “Through the Mirror, Through the Mind” St. Paul, MN | “Echoes Within” Seattle, WA | “Living in the Disconnect” Rochester, MN | “Tangible Hallucinations” Minneapolis, MN