Jess Haines-Hann
Army, Painter
Jess grew up in a small town in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. She remembers pulling a cart, filled with her art supplies, to the home of a female artist who never spent a day without a paint brush in her hand. Twelve-year-old Jess loved this time.
“Her name was Jean, and she had an art studio where women chatted, painted, took classes and were happy being together. For Jean, art was about freedom. There was no right or wrong way to create.
“When I joined the army, no one saw it coming…..even me.”
After finishing high school, Jess spent a few months contemplating a career in hospitality. But then her thoughts turned to working as a steward in the army when she saw an opportunity to join as a Gap Year. She was also fluent in Indonesian and thought she may find a role as a translator.
“I thought, if I like the army I’ll stay for a while. If I don’t like it, I’ll leave and work in a hotel or restaurant.”
After enlisting, Jess remained in the military for thirteen years. During those years, she worked as a steward, a driver and, finally, a multi-media technician. In this latter role, Jess knew that she’d finally found her place.
“I didn’t know this job even existed! How did I spend all of this time in the service without knowing about it? I could have been training in this area right from the beginning, as it just felt so right for me.”
She relished the work and was deployed to Kuwait for seven months. Here, Jess was stimulated by the company of soldiers in the Coalition who were from all over the world including the United Kingdom, America and Germany as they worked together on Information Operations in the fight against ISIL.
“That deployment. We just all worked so well together. It was the highlight of my career as I felt like I was finally doing what I’d been trained for.”
While serving in the army, art remained a part of her life. Jess began airbrushing in 2012 by taking classes in this art form. Then, in 2015, her instructor suggested she try body art as the Australian Body Art Festival was coming up. Her work won first place in the airbrush category.
“At that time, I’d airbrush anything that would stay still long enough. One of my best experiences was body painting a pregnant Mum. She was so beautiful and resilient. It was a great experience for all of us,” she laughs.
An evocative set of Jess’s work was exhibited at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in February 2022, as part of the Australian Defence Force Creative Arts Association’s body of work. Jess painted three large, airbrushed acrylics on canvas, each one with a hand grenade at its centre. One has the grenade surrounded by coloured pencils and art materials, another is surrounded by sweets and treats, while the third is lying among brightly coloured flowers.
“Overall, the trilogy is about my feelings of apprehension and being ‘out of place’, just waiting for the next chaotic event to explode in my world. Every now and again, I feel as if things are going well and then life explodes again. It’s like being on a roller-coaster. I’ve struggled to put down roots, just as plants do, and build relationships, but there’s always an expiry date in the army, as transfers happen and it’s time to move again. I’ve gone into every relationship with an exit plan, knowing I’d be leaving eventually.
“I also struggle with body image, as expressed by the painting of sweets. Even though I feel happy in myself, I still feel the need to fit in and meet the army standards every day. There’s a push-pull feeling, like Imposter Syndrome. I’m so proud of my service but it’s been a hard slog at times, both physically and emotionally.
“As far as my artwork goes, I constantly self-censor. Especially because some of my work, like body painting, can walk the line of ‘appropriateness’. I’m cautious with what I paint and post online as I am always aware of defined standards set by the army. I’m always careful that what I do and create is appropriate. In saying that, I try to stay true to myself as best I can.”
As Jess transitions from the army, she is aware of the limited time she has spent with her family because of her service. She’s keen to continue offering that service as a reservist, but she is excitedly planning to return to her family and her roots, in a small town in South Australia.
“My dream direction is to open an art studio where people just rock up, pay for the supplies they use, tea, coffee, whatever, and work in the studio. An open, creative space.”
There’s a sense of symmetry in these plans, and perhaps there will be a young girl in that town, with a trolley of art material, who may find her way to Jess’s studio.
@flythecoopcreations
@fly the coop creations
