The cover art for Converge’s album Jane Doe has been an iconic part of many people’s experiences with the band over the years, although no one was privy to who the model for the cover was. According to stereogum.com, “The artwork, a mixed media portrait of an unknown woman by vocalist Jacob Bannon, has become a central part of Converge’s iconography, functioning as a logo for the band long beyond the Jane Doe album cycle. Many people have it tattooed on their bodies.”
According to an article on Brooklyn Vegan, a model named Audrey Marnay has identified herself as the subject of Bannon’s portrait, and Bannon has confirmed it. In an Instagram post six days ago, Marnay shared an image of herself shot by photographer Jan Welters as featured on the May 2001 cover of Italian Marie Claire, followed by images of the Jane Doe cover art, a tattoo, and various merch featuring the image.
In a post on Converge’s Facebook account, Bannon confirms the Marie Claire cover was one of his original sources for the album art, stating “Just to be clear: This is definitely one of the sources for the original stencil/mixed media piece for the “Jane Doe” album. Most of my work always been collaged cut/paste based (and still is). Hundreds of images were xeroxed and repainted/inked in a loose style to create the release artwork. This process is similar to everyone from Shepard Fairey to Francis Bacon. Over time my work has evolved into something more much more refined, but the roots will always be in this style… The original goal was to create ghost-like forms that embodied the concept of “Jane Doe”. In recreation identifiers are removed from physical forms, making all humans become relatable and stoic. We see what we want to see in them, and often times, it’s a reflection back onto our own life experiences, etc.” It seems that the model herself just recently found out about being the iconic figure on the cover album, and based on Bannon’s explanation of his process, it makes sense that she could have not known for so long.
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