Jackie Berridge’s work focuses on people in domestic settings, representing a world of interior and exterior; a place to dream, a sanctuary or alternatively a place of captivity and imprisonment. Whilst occupants live cheek by jowl they also remain solitary and independent of each other. Colour, pattern and visual clues provide insights into character whilst the expression of individuals remains passive – allowing for personal interpretation.
These particular paintings have evolved through imagination where the artist is transported back to childhood and role play. There is a joy in allowing thoughts to flow uninterrupted and uninhibited, tempered by the considered approach to colour, composition and form. The eye is taken on a route round a warren of images, each habitat offering a different story. “There are constructions that begin as dwellings but then morph, reassemble and artfully collide with each other, endlessly leading the eye round and round without a means of escape”.(Geraldine Swayne 2019)
Influences are wide and varied and include animations for children (‘Mr Benn’, the ‘Clangers’, and ‘Magic Roundabout’), medieval altarpieces, Alan Bennett’s ‘Talking Heads’, the ‘Starship Enterprise’ and Indian Miniatures. The ‘Starship’ allows freedom to explore different boundaries and creates a visual bubble of infinite space. Whilst characters from stop-frame animation are a reminder of how the viewer can project expression onto impassive heads.
Even before a residency in Baroda, Gujarat in India (January 2019), Indian and Persian miniatures were an influence, especially in terms of the narrative content, delicious colour and the exquisite decorative details. Seeing the architectural jewels first hand and viewing the miniatures in context was an intensely rich experience and has informed the recent paintings. The surface has become very decorative and the pinkish value of the Indian light more evident. The colonial influence on local architecture also provided some interesting juxtapositions.
Foliage features prominently in the ‘Escape Rooms’ series and is inspired by visits to formal public gardens such as the Italian Giardini di Boboli, the Botanical Gardens in Visby, and closer to home the Arboretum, Nottingham. Although observational drawing is important to the process, the final recall is from memory.
The smaller works shine a spotlight on an array of individuals. These portraits capture the essence of the ‘sitter’ rather than a physical likeness. Subjects range from the ordinary to the sublime, fictional characters as well as real people - with symbolic clues woven into the work. The physical identity of the ‘sitter’ is not important, the focus being the ‘essence’ of character.
These particular paintings have evolved through imagination where the artist is transported back to childhood and role play. There is a joy in allowing thoughts to flow uninterrupted and uninhibited, tempered by the considered approach to colour, composition and form. The eye is taken on a route round a warren of images, each habitat offering a different story. “There are constructions that begin as dwellings but then morph, reassemble and artfully collide with each other, endlessly leading the eye round and round without a means of escape”.(Geraldine Swayne 2019)
Influences are wide and varied and include animations for children (‘Mr Benn’, the ‘Clangers’, and ‘Magic Roundabout’), medieval altarpieces, Alan Bennett’s ‘Talking Heads’, the ‘Starship Enterprise’ and Indian Miniatures. The ‘Starship’ allows freedom to explore different boundaries and creates a visual bubble of infinite space. Whilst characters from stop-frame animation are a reminder of how the viewer can project expression onto impassive heads.
Even before a residency in Baroda, Gujarat in India (January 2019), Indian and Persian miniatures were an influence, especially in terms of the narrative content, delicious colour and the exquisite decorative details. Seeing the architectural jewels first hand and viewing the miniatures in context was an intensely rich experience and has informed the recent paintings. The surface has become very decorative and the pinkish value of the Indian light more evident. The colonial influence on local architecture also provided some interesting juxtapositions.
Foliage features prominently in the ‘Escape Rooms’ series and is inspired by visits to formal public gardens such as the Italian Giardini di Boboli, the Botanical Gardens in Visby, and closer to home the Arboretum, Nottingham. Although observational drawing is important to the process, the final recall is from memory.
The smaller works shine a spotlight on an array of individuals. These portraits capture the essence of the ‘sitter’ rather than a physical likeness. Subjects range from the ordinary to the sublime, fictional characters as well as real people - with symbolic clues woven into the work. The physical identity of the ‘sitter’ is not important, the focus being the ‘essence’ of character.