Quilla Constance

Quilla Constance
Quilla Constance performing at 198 Contemporary Arts, 2015
Born	Jennifer Allen 1980 (age 36–37) Birmingham, West Midlands, England

Quilla Constance, 'QC', is the creation of English artist, lecturer and curator, Jennifer Allen, born in Birmingham 1980.

Quilla Constance, aka Jennifer Allen, graduated from The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art , St John's College, University of Oxford, with a BA (Hons) Fine Art in 2001 and earned an MFA from Goldsmith's College, University of London in 2006.

It has been proposed that 'QC over-identifies with an 'exotic' militant punk persona to interrogate category-driven capitalist networks, through staging and virally inserting her artistic practice within pop culture, traversing music venues, forging protests and entering art galleries in order to emulate and interrupt the operations of these cultural zones'. Quilla Constance stages interventions across an interdisciplinary practice of paintings, lectures, photographs, live performances, costumes and music videos. Her live performance work has been noted for its 'unflinching physical narrative performed entirely through breath, posture and non-verbal sounds: panting like a dog, sex noises, then laughter, pure guttural anger, and back again'.

Allen's video and performance works have exhibited internationally since 2001 and are represented in the art collections of Anita and Poju Zabludowicz, David Roberts' Art Foundation, and Goldsmith's College (Warden's).

In 2003 Allen was awarded British and Arts Council funding for her solo exhibition and artist's residency at BizArt Center, Shanghai, China through the ARTLINKART International Residency Programme.

In 2007 Allen guest curated a video screening at 176 London, Zabludowicz Collection. The event featured Allen's 2006 video work Happy Christmas Mom & Dad, a piece that sees Allen allegedly perform a seductive dance as a gift for her parents on Christmas Day. It was subsequently reviewed by Jane Neal for Saatchi Online The screening at Zabludowicz Collection also included video works by Peter Land the Visual Artist, Pipilotti Rist , Gilbert & George , and Carolee Schneemann.