Savannah Jarvis: Surgical Fantasies

Surgical Fantasies gives form to fantasies of control and autonomy for those with bodies burdened by chronic pain, specifically endometriosis. Exploring desires to intervene with one’s own circumstances against the inability to do so, Jarvis expands upon historical artistic representations of medical bodies and female objectification, creating a fantastical ‘surgical suite’.

Savannah Jarvis is an emerging Brisbane/Meanjin based artist whose work explores concerns surrounding linguistic expressions of pain, and the difficulties that historically arise in articulations of phenomenological experiences of the body. Underpinned by the belief that images may succeed in the realms that language has failed, her works, one step removed from reality as they are, often avoid didactic and literal imagery; promoting humour and discursive visuals as alternatives ways of communicating the complexity of pain, language and chronic conditions to the exterior world. In 2020 she completed a BFA with Honours at the Queensland College of Art.