ARTIST IN SCOTLAND
I work with found objects, old photographs and the things most people leave behind.
THE PRACTICE
I make collage and assemblage art from found objects, battered papers, discarded photographs, and the materials most people walk past. These things arrive with their own histories already written into them. Stains, cracks, the traces of other lives. I don't cover those marks. I work with them.
My references come from the collective unconscious, loss and play, memory and identity, masculinity and the stories we inherit without choosing them. When I work with found photographs, I try to turn anonymity into identity and to draw a visual poem from something that was almost forgotten.
Making, for me, is a personal and meditative exercise. I work freely and without much planning. There is something in me that connects to an older way of being, a return to my roots as a gatherer and a maker of meaning.
My work offers a glimpse into a story rather than a complete narrative, inviting the viewer to linger and to bring their own memory to what remains.
THE TEACHING
I began teaching because the practice felt too important to keep to myself.
1,100+
STUDENTS TAUGHT
27
COUNTRIES
6
YEARS TEACHING
30+
EXHIBITIONS
My classes are intentional and intimate. Whether online or in person, I create space for genuine exploration guided by intuition, open to error, attentive to what each person needs.
I teach mixed media, assemblage, artist books, found photograph art, and processes I have developed through years of quiet research and obsession.
ARTFUL MEMORIES
Published 2021
A guide to transforming old photographs into meaningful art objects. Part tutorial, part meditation on memory and material. The book I wish I had found when I started.
THE BOOK
“Jack’s work is as exciting as it is spellbinding. Each object within their collages and assemblage art is carefully selected to tell a stirring, yet sensitive story. I find myself decoding and analysing them as one would a celebrated, old poem. Yet, like poetry, I want to simply let their beautiful meanings and nature wash over me like a sea of mystery, charm and intrigue.”
PRESS & RECOGNITION
You may have seen me in
Selected exhibitions since 2010 across the UK and internationally, including solo and group shows.
Every class begins with a few scraps of paper and ends with something entirely your own.
Come and make something.
Follow along on INSTAGRAM
