W. K. Lyhne says: “The self-portrait has long been a vehicle for the artist, but has a special significance for the female artist. When women weren’t allowed to depict others or even themselves, and weren’t considered artists or allowed to enter education and academies, they continued to do self-portraits as a means of expression, reinforcing the notion that women need to paint. Although I wasn’t a judge and Fru [Tholstrup] and I didn’t select any of the works in our own right, I love Vanessa’s work as it is so luscious, delicious and clever, and resoundingly original.”

The American-born, Dublin-based Jones is a figurative painter who explores themes around the feminine, primordial impulses and medieval associations with beauty through the filter of self-portraiture. She was completing an MA in Fine Art at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin when she decided to enter The Sequested Prize.

Jones says: “The past couple of years, but especially the last five months, have been incredibly rewarding. The Sequested Prize was the first thing after lockdown began that I had to look forward to. I saw Ishbel Myerscough’s Instagram post about the competition, and I felt like I finally had a deadline to create something when the world sort of collectively shut down. I knew that the idea of the self-portrait was important, even if I wasn’t certain why, so I entered, and from there, a whole series of self-portraits developed.

“The series that started with ‘HoMi Hand Plow’ ended up being my graduate body of work. I called it ‘Self-replicating Self-portraits’. From this series, I was shortlisted for the Graduate RDS Visual Art Awards Exhibition in Dublin from which I was awarded the R.C. Lewis-Crosby Award and the RDS Mason, Hayes & Curran LLP Centre Culturel Irlandais Residency in Paris.”

Another painting in the series was also included in the National Gallery of Ireland’s Zurich Portrait Prize and highly commended.

Jones adds: “What all started with the painting that I made for The Sequested Prize ended up shaping my practice. It was a breakthrough piece for me, but I never imagined it would be chosen by a group of judges who I have respected from afar in the art world. It was enough to have them see my work, but it feels fitting that The Judges Choice Award was given after everything else and at the end of the lockdowns. I just feel really grateful.”

In addition to continuing her series of self-portraits, which deal with feminine archetypes and symbols around walled gardens and the sea, Jones has a three-month residency in Paris this summer. She is also working on a collaboration with French tapestry artist Bettina Saroyan.