Janine Campbell, born 1972, is a Sydney-based artist and architect who was interested in art and design from an early age. Influenced by her mother, a seamstress, and her father, an engineer, and later by her travels to Europe, the Middle East, and South America, Campbell’s interest in scale and urban art in public space have formed the basis of her architectural and creative projects. Her work has moved from abstract expressionism in painting to using the scale, space, light and materiality of architecture. Interested in the blurred boundaries between art, design, and architecture, she also explores ways in which to incorporate art into her architectural practices.
Growing up in north-west Sydney, Campbell went to Carlingford High School, earning a place in 'ArtExpress’ before going on to study fine arts at Meadowbank TAFE from 1990 to 1992. It was here that she spent time exploring abstraction and architecture. After completing her diploma she worked for a short time as a freelance artist from a warehouse studio in Pyrmont, Sydney, before doing some volunteer aid work in Guyana. In the unlikely setting of the jungles of South America she decided that she would become an architect.
Upon her return to Sydney, Campbell had a short stint as a framer in Notanda Gallery before she enrolled part-time in a Bachelor of Arts, then a Bachelor of Architecture degree at the University of Technology, Sydney. Whilst a student, she not only worked at various architectural firms, but maintained her connection to the visual arts through ongoing solo exhibitions, including exhibiting paintings at Tap Gallery in Sydney, and Gelbert Studios in New York.
After a few more years in the architecture industry, in 2004 Campbell embarked on a study tour to the Middle East, Paris and New York, and visited family in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She returned to Australia to start up her own design practice – Ja9 Design. Working on a number of projects as an exhibiting artist and designer and entering several competitions allowed her to pursue her creativity, often in collaboration with other creative practitioners. In 2006 Campbell was a finalist in the Renovation Design, HIA CSR Australian Housing Awards in NSW and was joint winner in the North Sydney Council Public Art Competition (for which she worked in collaboration with Louise O’Brien).
In 2005 Campbell returned to the architecture industry as a Senior Architect at Hassell, continuing to bring the playful informality of her art to her architectural projects.
- Writers:
- Barbara Skeggs
- Date written:
- 2011
- Last updated:
- 2011
