 |  | The head of visual arts at Coventry University, Jill Journeax, is holding an exhibition of her drawings and reliefs called Exhausting Beauty between 20 November and 18 December at the university's Lanchester Gallery.
Lace influence
Several of the pieces were created in response to a visit the artist made to the Nottingham Trent Lace Archive in 2000.
The inventive imagery and pattern making found in pieces from the archive, in particular the handmade Brussels and Irish lace from the 1860s, caught her imagination.
 Jill's work has made a big contribution to the establishment of drawing as an expressive medium in its own right
 | Μύ | Professor Clive Richards
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Increasingly, in the late 19th century, textile production was dominated by the machine, yet the workers still managed to keep traditional skills alive and produce beautiful and precious objects.
Journeaux sees a parallel today in producing beautiful and skilful drawings by hand in the age of the computer.
Complex drawings
Professor Clive Richards, associate dean of Coventry University's School of Art and Design, said: "Jill's work has made a big contribution to the establishment of drawing as an expressive medium in its own right, rather than simply being a stage in some other art process."
The complex drawings on show explore the relationships and connections between the female body, flowers - particularly tulips and gerbera daisies - clothing, insects and lace.
Techniques like patterning, the diagrammatic, silhouette and line are combined and interwoven across the sheet of paper to create open and seemingly simple alignments in order to provoke and encourage opinion.
Influences and expressions
The subjects reflect events and experiences in the artist's life and to some extent the works are autobiographical.
However, titles such as Dowry and My Mothers Body indicate more general narratives and themes.
References are made to botanical illustration, 17th century Dutch flower painting, embroidery, stitching and medical illustration and are used to construct metaphors for sexuality, age and loss.
The notion of polarities - male and female, bloom and decay, dark and light - have been a constant theme in work produced by the artist over the last 20 years and provide a darker set of associations underpinning these apparently light and delicate images.
Exhibition details
Exhausting Beauty is at the Lanchester Gallery, Graham Sutherland Building, Gosford Street from 20 November - 18 December.
It is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
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