Exhibition Opening - Friday 3 October, 6pm
Eden James and Hadassah’s exhibition ‘As Seen on TV’ is a nostalgic journey through the golden moments of film and television, capturing the essence of nostalgia depicted in paint, ink and pencil by artists Eden James and Hadassah James. This exhibition revisits iconic scenes and beloved characters through vibrant, expressive works. As Seen on TV focuses on classic films and television shows, reinterpreted through a contemporary artistic lens. Each piece aims to evoke the warmth, wonder, and sentimentality of what we have “Seen on TV” throughout our lives.
About Eden James
My name is Eden James, I am a Melbourne based artist from Aotearoa, New Zealand. My love of art and drawing started at a very young age. I was lucky enough to grow up in a large creative family who encouraged exploration through creativity. As a teenager I studied 2D animation where my interest in self expression through art grew. Although animation never became a career path that I pursued professionally, I always loved art and while living in Brighton UK I worked for a small independent art gallery which gave me a small window into the traditional art scene. Once moving back to New Zealand in 2019, and going through multiple prolonged lockdowns during the 2020 pandemic, I finally explored putting brush to canvas and quickly fell in love with oil painting. The rich vibrancy and depth that oil paint allows opened a new world for me. I have always been drawn to figurative painting and portraiture, I love the ability to tell the audience a story, or invoke an emotion within one quick glance. My goal is to breathe life and feeling into my artwork, through vibrant colours and the relationship between light and form.
In 2023 I moved to Melbourne and had my first solo exhibition ‘letter to loneliness’ (2024) and now have an upcoming collaborative exhibition ‘As seen on TV” with many more exciting creative endeavours on the horizon.
About Hadassah James
I’m Hadassah James, and I honestly can’t remember a time when art wasn’t a constant presence in my life. It has always been my way of expressing myself, processing emotions, and making sense of the world around me. My artistic focus has always leaned heavily toward illustration, comic books, and animation. Character-driven visuals have been the foundation of my creative passion. This passion led me to earn a diploma in Classical 2D Animation, and although life eventually took me in a different direction, storytelling through illustration remained a constant interest. Combining my love of narrative with deep interests in history, anthropology, and folklore, I naturally gravitated toward the world of graphic novels. In 2024, I exhibited my debut graphic novel Misery Loves Company at Thought Bubble: The Yorkshire Comic Art Festival in the UK. That experience solidified my commitment to telling meaningful stories through the unique and powerful language of comics.
That same passion brings me to this exciting exhibition, As Seen on TV, where I get to explore and be inspired by another influential form of visual storytelling: film and television. It’s a chance to reflect on how visual media shapes our narratives, influences our perspectives, and connects us across different backgrounds and experiences. What resonates with one person might differ from another. But through exploring the shows, films, characters, and stories we love, we find shared meaning, and I think that’s the real magic of TV.