With LOOKING OUT / LOOKING IN, I wanted to create a series of works that explore vulnerability. I’m a gay man who grew up under Section 28 and, like so many, found it difficult to express my true self in that environment of ignorance and prejudice. Coming out was a great test of how vulnerable I was prepared to be. We’re often told that to be vulnerable is courageous and beneficial to our relationships with others, but we inherently feel that to be so is dangerous, a trap. Most queer people, however, somehow overcome that fear and my paintings chart that journey to acceptance.
Periods of transition interest me as they have always presented me with opportunities to be vulnerable. Here I focus on three transitions from my own life – choosing to live as openly gay, my adolescence from boy to man and moving from actor to painter.
I’ve spent two decades performing in theatre and screen productions both here in the UK and in Hollywood. Actors are of course required to be vulnerable as part of the job, to draw on a child-like state of play whilst commanding a stage and weathering constant rejection.
“…becoming a painter has provided me with an understanding of myself that I never experienced as an actor.”
Mark Jackson
It’s a challenging mindset to inhabit, but becoming a painter has provided me with an understanding of myself that I never experienced as an actor. Without the layered protection of character, script, costume and direction I’ve been left with a paint brush and my own thoughts. It’s been both thrilling and scary to experience that vulnerability and run with it.
The figures in my paintings conceal themselves, seek to protect and brood, but they also revel in the joy of unexpected self-discovery that comes with understanding the power of their vulnerability. I’ve used vibrant colours and bold compositions on canvas to highlight the tension within the subjects as they ruminate, question and, most importantly, dare to express.
Mark Jackson is exhibiting a selection of his works from 20 to 25 August 2024 at Espacio Gallery, 159 Bethnal Green Rd, London E2 7DG,
Opening Hours: Tues – Sat 11 am – 6pm | Sunday 11 am – 4 pm Private View: Wednesday 21 August, 6 – 9 pm
Works are for sale. Entry is FREE.
https://www.markjacksonarts.com
Instagram: @markjacksonarts
