Hannah Jensen graduated from Auckland University of Technology in 2004 with a Bachelor of Visual Arts majoring in printmaking and has transferred her skills to the painted medium in her  postgraduate practice, developing a unique stylistic approach.

Jensen achieves the specific effect of her work by applying layers of paint to board before employing printmaking techniques such as intaglio, etching and carving to create thematic content. The result is a detailed image rendered in negative relief that emphasises the texture and tonal variations  between paint colours in a topographical manner. Using anywhere between 25 - 75 layers of paint and up to 5 different colours, Jensen calculates the depth of each layer to provide the necessary  variations of colour, texture and shadow in the work.

The result of Jensen’s artistic process is a re-animation of the beauty observed in imagery – objects that have caught her eye (cranes & peacocks, postage stamps, graffiti stencils) are plucked from context, their detail amplified and re-presented. Jensen has exhibited in group and solo shows in Auckland and throughout New Zealand, receiving a nomination for the 2004 Madza Emerging Artist awards. A notable exhibition at Auckland’s Disrupt Gallery, Jensen collaborated with some of  Auckland’s most popular graffiti artists, translating their designs into the carved/painted medium. As she noted, “I’m not a graff girl, I’m a carver, but what better way to take graff one step further.  Carving is something you can’t just spray over, making a temporary art permanent, setting it in stone or should I say paint.”