Approved: 16.08.2006

Bill Jackson

Artist, Film-maker, Maker

Approved: 16.08.2006

Conceptual Artist, Photographer, Performer, Foto Filmmaker creating site specific projections, installations and soundscapes

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Artist Statement

Conceptual Artist, Photographer, Performer, Foto Filmmaker creating site specific projections, installations and soundscapes

Working with specially constructed drawing tools in the dark of night I engage with natural elements including the sea and the wind to map out spaces and environments, tapping into the natural energies to trace and draw, and document unique, live, site specific performances. The reality of the captured image is fundamental to all my work, particularly with long exposure photography, or space-time. 

The concept of time is crucial to my ideas, exchanging the classic definition of photography as a series of instant glimpses of the world in which we live, to a personal definition of ‘space-time’. Through performance and space-time photography I map natural spaces and man made environments.  Interactions with natural elements such as the wind or the tides, are intrinsic to my process as I document my live performances over an extended period of time producing one still photograph.  

Sol LeWitt famously wrote, "In conceptual art the idea or the concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.”

John Cage talked about the accident or mistake in creating art. Through careful, technical planning, predetermination or pre visualisation, I own the accident; it is very much a part of what I do.

Working on location at night, I create ?a field of vision for the light drawings to take place; the outcome is unknown. The photograph is the evidence of an 'event' that has taken place, a 'performance' that even I myself cannot see in its entirety. During creation, only ?the process is evident. It’s through the inherent values in photography as a documentary process that I  realise the idea.

A conceptualist arts education in the early 70's at Coventry School Of Art continues to inform my thinking and work practice. Drawing or mark making in its widest interpretation is integral to my work. The mark, as an engineering drawing or a mathematical notation, is the beginning of the journey to new ideas.  

As a young art student, I was  influenced by Pollock's approach to random mark making and the artist's’ intervention in that process.  I create stages for these interventions  to unfold; with the knowledge of these stages in daylight, the 'performance' is transformed by night. 

In 1986 I transitioned from photography and ventured into cyberspace, initially experimenting with early digital formats, combining them with analogue photography. Through this period major electronic mapping works included ‘Iconoclast’ and ‘The Journey of The Skin Man’. These were later used to illustrate the current concerns about photography at a symposium at The National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in 1991. The print and publishing industry viewed digital as either a threat to or an opportunity for  the creative industries. I fully embraced the changing tides and spent the next 20 years exploring ideas in the new technologies, producing multimedia installations in both physical and cyber spaces. 

I have won many international awards for my work in recent years and was the first photographer to receive three RPS International Print Awards. My work has been shown in the UK and worldwide including The National Portrait Gallery; The Photographers Gallery, London; The Brno Museum, Prague and the Museum Of Contemporary Arts in Argentina.  My work is also in many private and public collections. 

I live and work in my studio / farm near the coast of Suffolk, East Anglia and central London.

CV & Education

Selected Screenings

2017 'East Wind Drawings' Aldeburgh Beach

2017 'Red Sofa Sessions' 2014-2016 Maverick Festival 

2017 'North By East' - parts 1 - 4 House of St Barnabas London

2003 'Wish you were here'  Spectrum ii Nottingham

2003 'Spectrum iii'  Worcester Art Gallery and Museum

2003 Spectrum iii'  Phillips Gallery - Brewhouse - Taunton Devon

2003 'Spectrum iii'   Q Arts Derby

2002 'Spectrum ii' Heathcote Arts Nottingham

1999 'Site and Sound' Warwick Museum

1998 'Emissions' Milverton Gallery Leamington Spa.

1997 'Visions, Music, Text' Ambassador   New York  New York USA

1997 'Visions, Music, Text' Image Fine Art   San Francisco USA

1992 'il tuffatore, il nuotatore, affogare'  Prima Arts Video Festival , Dursley  Gloucs. Single Monitor Piece

1989 'Silent Trails' London College of Furniture and British Craft Council Tour 

Selected Exhibitions Solo

2015 Cartographie Luminaire  The Cut Halesworth

2013 Dark Light 1 & 2 Poetry Festival Pond Gallery Snape Maltings and  the Peter Peers Gallery Aldeburgh 

2013 Thema Mundi Caroline Wiseman South Lookout Tower Aldeburgh

2012 Cabinet Of Curiosities Art Projects with Troika Editions London Art Fair

2011 Cabinet Of Curiosities Troika Editions London

2011 The Night Hunter  Steven Walton Fine Arts Bury St Edmunds 

2011 VZ Gallery London 

2008 The Night Of The Hunter  gallery12 London 

2008 Inside and Out  The Market Place  Arts Centre Armagh Northern Ireland 

2006 'Morphenia' and other works gallery12 London

2006 'Morphenia' White Room Gallery Leamington Spa

2002 'Punctured Space' Commissioned by the Pump Room Galleries 

2000 The Underpool' Warwickshire School of Art

2000 'Tables of Desire' University of Warwick

1992 'Mirror'  "Art on the Move" Spa Centre Leamington Spa 

1990 'Iconoclast 1 11 111' Solihull Art College

1986 'New Works' Herbert Art Gallery and Museum Coventry

1985 'Bill Jackson Bill Brandt Room   Photographers Gallery London

1985 'Portrait Season'  Impressions Gallery York

1984 'Love Labours Lost' Barbican Centre London  Portraits RSC Company

1984 'Retrospective' MWC Gallery Leamington Spa 

1984 'Circus' Print Room  Photographers Gallery

1983 'Retrospective' Coventry University

1983 'On the Beach' The Quay Arts Centre Isle of Wight

 

Selected Exhibitions Group

2017 Motion PH21 Gallery Budapest

2017 London Art Fair Design Centre London

2016 Performance as part of the Halesworth Arts Festival at The Cut

2016 The Collective House Of St Barnabus London

2016 Time and Place for PhotoEast Halesworth Gallery

2016 London Art Fair Caroline Wiseman Modern and Contemporary

2015 The Weakening Antar Gallery Suffolk

2015 Re-Fashioned : Garments as Art  Old Fire Station Oxford curated by Sarah Mossop

2014 TimeSlip Fringe Arts Bath

2014 Five In Focus Norwich and Norfolk Arts Festival Anteros Gallery Norwich

2014 London Art Fair 2014 Caroline Wiseman Modern and Contemporary 

2013 Persistence Of Vision as part of the Aldeburgh Documentary Festival South Lookout Tower Aldeburgh 

2013 Benjamin Britten Centenary Artists in Residence Exhibition  South Lookout Tower Aldeburgh 

2013 Suffolk Showcase  Smiths Row Gallery Bury St Edmunds 

2011 Suffolk Showcase Smiths Row Gallery Bury St Edmunds 

2011 RPS 154th International Print Exhibition  Allen & Overy London

2011 Centre Forward Denver International Airport from the permanent collection of the Center For FIne Art Photography Fort Collins Colorado 

2011 RPS 153rd International Print Exhibition Birmingham Institute of Art and Design 

2011 White Room Dark Room The White Room Gallery Bath 

2011 RPS Members Print Exhibition Oldbury West Midlands

2011 International Exhibition  'Portraits'  Center For Fine Art Photography Fort Collins Colorado USA

2011 Taylor Wessing Portrait Awards  National Portrait Gallery

2011 RPS International Print Exhibition Banbury Museum 

2011 RPS International Print Exhibition Bonhaga Gallery Shetland Isles 

2010 RPS International Print Exhibition Aberystwyth Arts Centre 

2010 LIP 22nd Annual Exhibition Strand Gallery ( Proud Central ) London 

2010 Homes Group Show Viewfinder Gallery Brixton London 

2010 RPS International Print Exhibition Allen & Overy London

2010 Floor to Ceiling Show Troika Editions  London

2010 Suffolk Showcase Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery Bury St Edmunds

2010 World Photographic Award Winners Exhibition Madrid Spain 

2010 RPS International Print Tour Victoria Art Gallery Bath

2010 International Portrait Exhibition Minneapolis Center Of Photography 

2010 RPS International Print Tour Haworth Art Gallery, Acrington. Lancashire

2009 The International Portrait  selected by Mary Ellen Mark The Center For FIne Art Photography Fort Collins Colorado USA 

2009 Snap to the Grid  Los Angeles Centre for Digital Arts USA 

2009 Lip 21st Cottons Atrium Tooley Street London

2009 RPS International Print Exhibition Tour  Wingfield Barns, Eye, Suffolk 

2009 RPS International Print Exhibition Tour  Atkinson Gallery, Millfield School, Somerset  

2009 The Documentary Exhibition  selected by Ed Kashi The Center For FIne Art Photography Fort Collins Colorado USA

2009 The Suffolk Showcase selected by Grenville Davey and Lotte Juul Petersen. Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery UK

2009 RPS 152nd International Print  Allen & Overy London

2009 Corrections Curated by Harriette Lawler and Frank Ettenberg : SomArts San Fransico USA 

2009 Open Book 5 Artists : Valerie Benson, Debbie Booth. Simon Head, Bill Jackson, Anne Robinson @ Pages of Hackney 

2008 Third International Mini Print Exhibtion at Voixvisuelle Ottawa Canada 

2008 White Christmas V11 The White Galleries Leamington Spa and Bath  

2008 LIP 20th Annual Exhibition Selected by Clare Grafik and Paul Hill  Atrium Gallery London.

2008 Snap to the Grid 2008 Los Angeles Centre for Digital Art California, USA

2008 DigitalArt Expo International 2008  Los Angeles Centre for Digital Art California, USA 

2008 RA Summer Exhibition Royal Academy of Arts London 

2008 Still Life Revisited RPS Contemporary Group Selected by John Blakemore and Cary Williams : Warwickshire Arts Festival

2008 Trains Planes and Automobiles  Center for Fine Art Photography Museum of Contemporary Art Fort Collins USA

2007 Black and White  gallery12 London

2007 White Christmas V1 White Room Gallery Leamington Spa 

2007 Snap to the Grid  LACDA Los Angeles USA

2007 LIP 19th Exhibition  Selected by Mick Williamson and Stefanie Braun   - Atrium Gallery London

2007 International Fine Art Photography  Center for Fine Art Photography Museum of Contemporary Art Fort Collins USA

2007 Mattice Award  Exhibition   Dangenart Nashville TN USA

2007 The Brain Project   Biblioteca Statale Trieste Italy

2006 Identita` & Storia  Primo Piano Living Gallery Secco Italy

2006 Orilla 6   Museum of Contemporary Arts Sante Fe Argentina Prize Winner

2006 Snap to the Grid Los Angeles Centre for Digital Arts USA

2006 Art of the Digital The Lyceum Theatre Gallery San Deigo USA

2006 Warwickshire Artsweek Royal Pump Rooms Art Gallery and Museum Leamington Spa

2005 Print Show  White Room Gallery Leamington Spa 

2003 'Spectrum iii'  Worcester Art Gallery and Museum

2003 Spectrum iii'  Phillips Gallery - Brewhouse - Taunton Devon

2003 'Spectrum iii'   Q Arts Derby

2002 'Spectrum ii' Heathcote Arts Nottingham

1999 'Food and Drink' Warwick Museum 

1999 'Site and Sound' Warwick Museum

1998 'Emissions' Milverton Gallery Leamington Spa.

1996 'Synaptica'  Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry

1986 Selected by British Council for Cultural Exchange to represent British Contemporary Photography 

1986 'The Animal in Photography 1840-1986' Photographers Gallery London

1985 Image and Exploration' British Photography  : Photographers Gallery London

1984 'Welsh Open 84' Selected Portraits by Angus McBean,theatrical photographer  - Ffotogallery Cardiff

1982 'The British Arts Council  Collection'   Beaumanor Hall Leicester part of British Arts Council Purchasing Support Scheme

1982 'Birmingham Artists'  Midland Arts Centre Birmingham 

1982 'Midland Open '82'  Midland Group Gallery Nottingham

1982 '4th Brunel Open'  Brunel University London

1981 '3rd Brunel Open'  Brunel University London

1980 'Fleeting Gestures' Selected by Bill Jay ICP Gallery New York, Photographers Gallery  London

Collections

Work in many private and public collections including Allen and Overy London, Coventry Canal Basin Arts Trust, Centre For Fine Art Photography Colorado, Caroline Wiseman South Lookout Tower Archive.

Grants/Awards

2013 Third Prize Nature Award PX3 Paris 

2013 Editors Award Award The Print Space London 

2011 Selectors Award Suffolk Showcase 

2011 Silver Award RPS 154th International Print Exhibition

2010 Shortlisted for the Robert Cornelius Portrait Award</b> Honourable Mention

2010 Bronze Awards  Epson International Panoramic Awards

2010 Bronze Award 153rd RPS International Print Exhibition

2009 Honourable Mention  World Photographic Gala Awards Madrid Spain

2009 Gold Award Graphis Photography Annual 2010

2009 Honourable Mentionat the PX3: PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE PARIS 

2009 Silver Award 152nd RPS International Print Exhibition   

2008 Honourable Mention at the PX3: PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE PARIS 

2009 Portfolio 2 Book Cover Award The Center for Fine Art Photography Colorado USA   

2008 Premier Prix TROISIéME exposition internationale Centre d'artistes Voix Visuelle Ottawa  Canada

2008 Best of Show Trains Planes and Automobiles Museum of Contemporary Arts Fort Collins Colorado  USA

2007 Prizewinner Orilla 6 Museum Of Contemporary Arts Sante Fe  Argentina

2006 Mattice Award Dangenart Gallery Nashville  USA

2006 Toray Digital Creative Arts Award Toray Industries Japan

1996 West Midlands Arts Award 

1986 Northern Arts Exhibition Award

1982 Southern Arts Exhibition Award

1982 GLC Exhibition Award

1980 West Midland Arts Photography Award 

 

Seminars/Conferences/Symposiums/Selector and Awards

2014 Selector London Independent Photography Annual Exhibition   

2013 Selector and Awarding Judge 156th RPS International Print  

2009 The Brilliance of Photography RPS Symposium on Contemporary Photography. Speakers include : Gerry Badger, Paul Hill, Steven Gill, Bill Jackson, John Blakemore, Peter Kennard, Daniel Meadows, Richard Sadler.

1992 'Independent Film and Video Festival' Co Organiser at Robins Cinema Leamington Spa for Art on the Move Festival.  

Photographic works shown at various conferences and seminars on contemporary practice including the ICA London, Sheffield Media Show, The National Museum of Film and Photography in Bradford.

 

Media Exposure

 

BBC Culture Show

FT Weekend

Sunday Telegraph

Design Week

Obsessionistas Collectors Website

Re:Viewfinder published by The Viewfinder Gallery London

154th RPS International Print Exhibition published by the RPS

Ag Magazine January 2011 Issue

BJP Magazine January Issue

Black And White Photography  Magazine December Issue

Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize 10 published by The National Portrait Gallery

Sunday TImes Spectrum Magazine

Intelligent Life magazine

British Art Now  2010 published by Out Of The Box Publications edited by Jacob Sutton

World Photographic Gala Awards 2009 Publication 2010

Graphis Annual of Photography 2010 Published by Graphis Publications New York

153rd RPS International Print Exhibition published by the RPS

LIP 21st  Publication by The London independent Photographers 

Portfolio Showcase, Volume 2 Published by The Center For Fine Art Photography

152nd RPS International Print Exhibition published by the RPS

Out Of My Head Published Bill Jackson

BBC Culture Show

LIP 20th  Publication by The London independent Photographers 

Still Life Revisited RPS Contemporay Group 

Northwest Magazine Interview with Emily Paine

'Open '82' Published by Midland Groups Galleries

'Image and Exploration' Published by the Photographers Gallery, London

'The Animal in Photography 1840 - 1986' Published by Photographers Gallery, London

'Obraz i Poszukiwanie' Published by Galaria Zwsazuku Polskich

'Britska Soucasna' Published by Ministerstvo Kultury CSR

 

Residencies

 

2012  Caroline Wiseman's South Lookout Tower Projects Aldeburgh

2002  Video Artist in Residence Royal Pump Rooms as part of Medicate Circulate

2000  Digital Artist in Residence for Compton Verney Art Gallery and Museum, 'Cultural Objects' Project in Warwickshire Gallery and Museums Week