Naomi V. Jelish
Encyclopedia
Naomi V. Jelish was a fictional schoolgirl
and artist
created by the British
artist Jamie Shovlin
for a 2004 exhibition.
According to Shovlin, Jelish had disappeared with her family in 1991, aged 13, a year after her father and brother accidentally drowned. Her teacher, John Ivesmail had kept a collection of her remarkable drawings, which he entrusted to Shovlin before he died in 2002. Shovlin exhibited her works at the Riflemaker Gallery in London
, along with newspaper cuttings documenting her tragic life, and her diaries.
In fact, Naomi V. Jelish had never existed and all the material had been created by Jamie Shovlin himself. He had provided clues to the fictional nature of the work, such as giving both Jelish and her teacher names which were anagram
s of his own. Commenting on the exhibition he said "I wouldn't call it a hoax. It's misdirection
rather than tricking people. As an archetype
of somebody from a difficult family, somebody like Anne Frank
who did something normal in abnormal times, she has, I am sure, existed."
Jelish's work was subsequently bought by the art collector Charles Saatchi
for £25,000. It is occasionally suggested that Saatchi bought the work believing that Jelish was real. Asked about this, Shovlin replied "He fully knew what was going on. But the more I think about it, the more it adds another layer to the piece."
Jamie Shovlin went on to create another hoax
exhibition based on the non-existent band Lustfaust
which fooled a notable art critic and won him second place in the Beck's Futures
prize in 2006.
Schoolgirl
A schoolgirl is a girl attending either primary or secondary school, generally aged between four and eighteen years old.-Academic performance:This has led in some countries to calls for greater equality for education in the school system...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
created by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artist Jamie Shovlin
Jamie Shovlin
Jamie Shovlin is a British conceptual artist.He staged his first exhibition in 2004 basing it on what he claimed were the drawings of a disappeared schoolgirl called Naomi V. Jelish. He supported this claim with newspaper cuttings and diaries, and the work was bought for £25,000 by Charles Saatchi...
for a 2004 exhibition.
According to Shovlin, Jelish had disappeared with her family in 1991, aged 13, a year after her father and brother accidentally drowned. Her teacher, John Ivesmail had kept a collection of her remarkable drawings, which he entrusted to Shovlin before he died in 2002. Shovlin exhibited her works at the Riflemaker Gallery in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, along with newspaper cuttings documenting her tragic life, and her diaries.
In fact, Naomi V. Jelish had never existed and all the material had been created by Jamie Shovlin himself. He had provided clues to the fictional nature of the work, such as giving both Jelish and her teacher names which were anagram
Anagram
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
s of his own. Commenting on the exhibition he said "I wouldn't call it a hoax. It's misdirection
Misdirection
Misdirection is a form of deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another....
rather than tricking people. As an archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
of somebody from a difficult family, somebody like Anne Frank
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
who did something normal in abnormal times, she has, I am sure, existed."
Jelish's work was subsequently bought by the art collector Charles Saatchi
Charles Saatchi
Charles Saatchi is the co-founder with his brother Maurice of the global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, and led that business - the world's largest advertising agency in the 1980s - until they were forced out in 1995. In the same year the Saatchi brothers formed a new agency called M&C...
for £25,000. It is occasionally suggested that Saatchi bought the work believing that Jelish was real. Asked about this, Shovlin replied "He fully knew what was going on. But the more I think about it, the more it adds another layer to the piece."
Jamie Shovlin went on to create another hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
exhibition based on the non-existent band Lustfaust
Lustfaust
Lustfaust was a hoax 1970s German electronic music band, whose memorabilia was notably featured in the Beck's Futures exhibition in 2006, and which deceived Sunday Times cultural commentator Waldemar Januszczak into running an article describing their claimed activities in giving away free copies...
which fooled a notable art critic and won him second place in the Beck's Futures
Beck's Futures
Beck's Futures was a British art prize founded by London's Institute of Contemporary Arts and sponsored by Beck's beer given to contemporary artists....
prize in 2006.