chiara
This graphite drawing illustrates two figures swimming together, both distorted by the water in which they are almost entirely submerged. The subject in the foreground, the namesake of this study, is captured meeting the artist’s gaze directly, while the other figure glances up, either unaware or unbothered by the onlooker’s presence. Like in much of his oeuvre, Jackson’s quick and loose handling of his chosen medium speaks to his preference for spontaneity of execution in favour of a more realistic style of representation. Through his depictions of everyday scenes such as this one, the artist emphasises the visual and symbolic potential latent within the wider landscape of the Caymanian cultural experience.
About the Artist
John Reno Jackson
b. 1995
John Reno Jackson is an emerging contemporary Caymanian painter. He attended foundation courses in painting and drawing at the London Art Academy in 2015. Since then, he has continued his painterly explorations through a series of abstract works made in Grand Cayman. Jackson has exhibited at Paulo – PADA Studios in Barreiro, Portugal, where he attended an artist’s residency in 2020, and at Artisan Space in London, UK. His work is in the permanent collection of NGCI, where it was featured in the exhibitions Island of Women: Life at Home During Our Maritime Years (2020), Reimagined Futures – 2nd Cayman Islands Biennial (2021) and The People’s Collection – A 25-Year Cultural Legacy (2022).
