Hands That Speak: Conversations with Tyler Jackson

Hands That Speak: Conversations with Tyler Jackson

‘I think giving yourself permission to be creative just breeds more creativity and I’ve been so lucky to have the support of my wife and space to live what feels like a pretty creative life as of late.‘

– Would you consider yourself a poet or an artist?

Both, neither I think the only labels I fully embrace are husband and father. When it comes to creative work it’s constantly evolving, and I have no clue what it’ll look like even tomorrow. That said though after a chat with my wife about the power of speaking things into existence I’ve started calling myself an artist when people ask what I do and am not far off adding poet into that too.
They’re interestingly similar and vastly different at the same time. Writing is a very mindful process (in the literal, not esoteric meaning of the word), it’s a spark and then a puzzle. Visual art is a practice where I can really zone out and have no concept of time at all.

– Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

When it comes to poetry, its my daughter, she has this ability to throw me into an existential vortex by how grown up she looks using her drink bottle by herself. Safe to say she is an endless well of inspiration. Or just zoning out a bit in everyday situations, walking along the beach or staring at the garden, the longer and more vaguely I can look at a scene I feel the more likely a spark for a poem will hit.
As far as painting its normally as I’m falling asleep, I’ll have a flash of an idea and quickly jot it down. This means I wake up with some really interesting ones along side some less than stellar too, but hey that keeps me on my toes.

– Has it ever happened that a poem has prompted you to draw or vice versa?

All the time! A majority of my paintings at the moment are visual explorations of my poems. I have a big project coming up and I think that’ll be the crux of the whole thing. It more often than not happens with the poem being the egg and the painting the chicken. Although, the first poem I ever wrote that I felt good about was the result of a drawing being the inspiration.

– Do you think your art has/portrays a common theme?

Like I mentioned before the recurring theme in my poetry is my daughter but for my painting, I couldn’t tell you why this is, but the common motif has been hands. It could be because they’re wildly expressive, but I think its mainly because they’re a very readily available reference. Plus they look a bit weird, at least the ones I paint do.

– Do you have specific goals for your work? Any specific art installations in mind?

I have a gallery show here in South Australia at the end of the year that I am working towards and planning some bigger pieces than I have done previously. I would also love to do more mural work this year. I did my first one a few weeks ago and learnt so much so I’m super keen to continue down that road.
I am also finishing up a short book of poetry that I will roll out in the next few months that I am really stoked about. I am hoping it will be the first of many!

– How did you get into making art? Is there a story there?

I think theres always a story. Like most people I loved drawing and besides Power Ranger and paleontologist an illustrator was the first thing I ever wanted to be. Again, like most people I became interested in other things, probably had a few people put down my art and the practice dropped away. I had a little stint as a professional sportsperson then spent a long-time teaching yoga but when my daughter was born, I really wanted to work from home so I could spend as much time with her as possible. I went back to uni to study graphic design and had an illustration class that reignited that love for drawing. Digital art turned into exploring painting which has led me to my current iteration or making art and writing poetry. I think giving yourself permission to be creative just breeds more creativity and I’ve been so lucky to have the support of my wife and space to live what feels like a pretty creative life as of late.

– What were the feelings that you tried to put into your first piece?

Humor. There is definitely a line between telling jokes and being a joke and I really try to lean towards the former. I think levity is a fantastic way to get people thinking about big issues. Some artists have the ability to hit you in the face with meaning. My work is a bit more subtle and honestly some of it has very little meaning at all outside a bit of fun.

– Do you think that you have found the art style that you want to stick with or are you curious about any others?

I feel like I am close, that said who knows! I try to be open and however it turns out like is what it’s meant to be. I’ve definitely said I’ve found my style before and then have been inspired by another artist or a new technique and needed to experiment but for me it needs to feel right more than anything else.

– Where is the most random place you’ve ever had the inspiration to create and what came out of that?

I keep a notebook on me constantly so plenty of places; walking, driving (don’t worry I pulled over), cooking, in the shower. I think being open to inspiration is a bit of a tap and whenever water drops out, I want to catch it.

-What fictional character do you have beef with?

Ohh great question! Just off the top of my head I’d say Denethor from the LOTR movies. Like come on man, just be a decent dad and eat tomatoes with some bloody decorum.

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