Jean Bennett

Local Contemporary Art Prize 2026 – Finalist

Image courtesy of the artist.

Jean Bennett | The nep of life | 2025 | silk threads | 10 x 25cm (boxed) Sculpture 5 x 18cm

Nep: A small knot or cluster of entangled fibres. Consisting of either fibres or a foreign matter.

When I refer to the nep in my sculptural work, I look to the figure representing an aspect of this in relation to self.  The nep within symbolises the knot or entanglement we have experienced on our life journey. 

The nep can also be seen as a speck of knotted yarn within the weave or the cloth or symbolically, the weave of our life.

Rather than getting rid of the nep we find a way to work with it, to enable us to find and create balance within ourselves.  Not a denial of, rather an acceptance of all including the nep in our life.