There is a crack in everything

There is a crack in everything
Mixed media - framed in timber
by Janet Fox

“There is a crack in everything” — Leonard Cohen, Anthem.

In this evocative mixed media work, Janet Fox builds a quiet sense of reverence through layers of fragility and substance. Rust-toned, delicate papers — torn, weathered and collaged — sit alongside printing ink and textured marks, creating a surface that feels both aged and alive, like something unearthed.

A cross form anchors the composition, emerging from the rich sienna and dark umber tones, while at its centre a found image appears — a Christ-like face lifted from a very old Paris Match. It’s a small, haunting presence: part relic, part memory, held within the work’s distressed geometry.

From an abstract perspective, There Is a Crack in Everything reflects on the Crucifixion of Christ — not through literal depiction, but through material metaphor. Rust suggests time, decay, and sacrifice; ink and torn edges speak to human frailty; the collaged layers hold weight, history, and tenderness all at once.

True to Fox’s practice, imperfections are honoured rather than hidden — a meditation on faith, rupture, and what remains when something breaks.

Janet Fox is a mixed media artist known for her love of texture and her use of unusual, raw materials. Tears, rips, splashes and imperfections are embraced as part of the story, with Janet often describing her work as “perfectly imperfect.” Found materials frequently provide the starting point for her practice, becoming integral elements within her mixed media collage pieces.