Parallels

Paintings produced as part of a collaborative project with Sharon Henson shown at Leigh Art Trail.

The essence of the project was to explore one landscape and respond to it from their individual artistic disciplines.

Both artists have diverse art practices, Jackson re-imagines remembered landscapes in the studio exploiting the qualities of the paint, allowing the fluid pools of pigment to direct, whilst Henson responds to the landscape en-plein-air, working quickly to capture the fleeting changes of light, atmosphere and movement in an expressive painterly manner.

The project gave the artists the opportunity to explore the landscape of Hadleigh Park in more detail and to discover the unique history of its industrial past and current use as a community space for cross country cycling, an Olympic Legacy project.

Jackson in particular was excited to delve into the history of the park; land purchased by the Salvation Army created jobs at Home Farm and the Brick Works. Remnants of quarry pits now used as fishing lakes, remains of wartime use and of course the ruins of Hadleigh Castle, built in the thirteenth century, but a ruin within a few hundred years, due to the geology of the site, made famous because of John Constable’s iconic paintings.

Henson’s focus was on its current usage, captivated by the cycle paths weaving and winding across the landscape and echoing the Brickwork railway tracks that ferried supplies down the hills to the wharf on the Estuary. She particularly loved capturing moments such as the early morning swims of members of Hadleigh Plungers a club that meet at the reservoir on a weekly basis or picnickers enjoying sunset at the Castle on the summer solstice.

The artists have not been prescriptive in their subject choices and have painted in parallel, save the occasional meet up to walk, draw and sketch; nonetheless, they have found that their work has elements of cohesion and connection; that there are indeed Parallels.

Henson and Jackson’s work can also be found at Two Tree Gallery collective.