Jacky Cheng was born in Malaysia of Chinese heritage and currently resides in Yawuru Country, Broome, WA. Jacky Cheng weaves narratives and materials drawn from her familial and cultural experiences, and maps these to the esoteric and social constructs of her physical environment and its collective surroundings. Deeply rooted in her own bi-cultural experience, a focus of her work her is an emergence of identity and awareness through cultural activities, nostalgia and intergenerational relationships. Her predominant choice of medium reflects an intense relationship within her practice through methodologies and manipulation of papers and fibres.
Her recent accolades include the national prize 46th Fremantle Art Centre Print Award (2023), The John Stringer Prize (2022), Best Bespoke Design, VIC (2023); finalists in multiple national art awards including National Works on Paper, VIC (2024, 2022) and 67th Blake Prize, NSW (2022). She attended residencies in Japan, Finland, Spain and Australia and was one of the selected artists in Regional Assembly 2023/24 (Regional Arts Australia) connecting with other cultural practitioners working in regional and remote geographies across Australia, Asia and the Pacific. Her work has been acquired by public institutions and in private collections. Jacky is one of the lead artists in the Indian Ocean Craft Triennial 2024 at Fremantle Art Centre.
As an art educator, facilitator and arts worker, Jacky works with various organisations delivering skill-based training and mentorship. Her award-winning teaching accolades was recognised at the state and national Vocational Education Training (VET) sector bestowed by the Australia Training Awards (2013) and a finalist for the Curtin University Teaching Excellence Award by Awards Australia (2015).
Images courtesy of the artist, photographer Bo Wong and photographer Brett Canet-Gibson.