Woman who inspired Converge’s ‘Jane Doe’ artwork comes forward

Nearly two decades after the album’s release, the woman who inspired the artwork on Converge’s Jane Doe has come forward.

Audrey Marnay, an Italian model, took to Instagram earlier this week with a photo from a May 2001 photoshoot she did for ‘Marie Claire’ along with photos of Converge’s album cover and several merch items and tattoos with the same image. She captioned the post, “Hi CONVERGE, it’s “JANE DOE” Shall we talk!?”

Converge frontman Jacob Bannon, who created the artwork for ‘Jane Doe,’ responded on Wednesday in his own Instagram post, explaining the process behind the cover’s creation. Along with a side-by-side photo of the cover and magazine photo, he wrote,

“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. I wonder if folks will still insist that it is actually from the cover of Slayer’s “Reign In Blood”?

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.”

Jane Doe was released on September 4, 2001. To celebrate the album’s 20th anniversary, the band released a limited edition print of the album artwork that was only available until the end of September.

Last month, Converge announced that they would be releasing Bloodmoon: I, a collaborative new album with Chelsea Wolfe, Ben Chisholm and vocalist/guitarist Stephen Brodsky. That is slated to hit shelves on CD and digital November 19 and on vinyl June 24. Pre-orders can be found through the band’s website.

Converge will be hitting the road from February through March 2022 with Meshuggah and Torche. They are also set to perform at Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Los Angeles 2021 in December, Hellfest 2022 in June and Damnation Fest 2022 in November 2022. Tickets for all shows are also available through the band’s website.