[Gallery]

Western Australian Artist Matt Jackson talks with A &U’s Rhomylly Forbes About Grasping History

CLICK HERE to view the Gallery of Images

For me, there is no division between the beauty of a traditional beachscape and the austere conceptualism of contemporary abstract art. Low and High Art, each is visually appealing and valid in its own way. Art is only limited when boundaries restrict it. I love to paint, it frees me from the mundane. The activity of pushing paint around and giving it life is a continual joy for me. I can’t imagine anything more pleasurable.”
—from the artist’s Web site

Rhomylly Forbes: You’re married, bisexual, a father of two teenagers, and HIV-positive. What and how much of these varying aspects of yourself do you put into your artwork?
Matt Jackson: I guess the varying aspects of my personal life go a great way to inform my art practice. As anyone who is HIV-positive would know, the issue of one’s own mortality becomes a keystone in the way we view ourselves, at least initially. Likewise, being aware of my own gender identity especially since it distances me from mainstream accepted views. These differences inform my daily life, so understandably they impact on the artwork I produce. My daughters are a great pleasure to me and are both studying art at a tertiary level, so their feedback, along with my wife’s, serves as a barometer by which I feel the work may be judged on a larger scale.

You were recently included in the Western Australian AIDS Council twentieth anniversary exhibition. What did that mean to you?
It was an honor to be included and quite a surprise. I had not thought of myself as part of the broader AIDS community for some time. It was a revelation of sorts to see myself perhaps as a storyteller or holder of a part of history. With twenty years or more of memories of AIDS in Western Australia and being positive myself, it made sense I might have something to offer culturally to the existing contemporary HIV/AIDS community.

What artwork of yours was exhibited?
I had several small mounted visual diary excerpts which loosely discussed my experiences and views on mortality, but the larger scale paintings spoke of the loss of my partner in 1995 and also the gradual loss of an entire community and therefore
the loss of a multitude of histories. I believe the paintings (which I donated to the AIDS Council) are now hanging
in the Immunodeficiency Ward in Royal Perth Hospital.

Tell me a little about your artistic background.
I’ve always been an avid painter. I grew up in an arts-rich family in the U.K., where a career in arts was accepted as the norm. When my family moved to Australia I started my formal training at a small but vibrant art school in Claremont in WA; I’ve since gone on to achieve my Bachelor of Visual Art with Honors from Edith Cowan University, where I now tutor part-time in cultural history and theory.

Tell me about the portrait of your two friends, the “bear” portrait.
The bears in the portrait are two beautiful gentlemen who live in Napa, California. I was and am inspired by their relationship, they are just so open and loving. I was preparing for an exhibition of nudes and asked many of my friends whether they would pose for me. Robbie and Fish were amongst those who kindly agreed and the shots they sent were so full of unguarded affection I couldn’t wait to paint them.

For me it was a chance to capture the obvious love between [the members of] this gorgeous couple, whereas many viewers at the exhibition were far more aware of the subversion of the traditional nude. Instead of a stereotypical lithe “perfect” woman, there was a depiction of two fat, hairy gay men. The audience found it quite confrontational, but that certainly wasn’t my intention. The painting sold within minutes of the gallery doors opening.

Do you like to do portrait work?
Portrait painting is a real challenge and I love it...it’s probably the easiest discipline to get wrong. The skill level to achieve a likeness is very high and as an artist your subjective “take” on the personality of your sitter may not always be kindly met.

What would you like to be doing artistically five years from now? Ten years from now?
Five years from now I’d like to be exhibiting stateside and producing enough to pay my travel expenses. Ten years from now I dream of living entirely on what I create. Ultimately I would love to have both a living income and the respect of my peers.

Did becoming HIV-positive change your art in any way?
HIV, for me, was a huge kick in the arse. It forced me to re-prioritize and start taking my art practice seriously. I figured back then that I only had a brief time on this planet, so I had better make my mark while I could. In many ways HIV has been a very positive thing for me.

What would you like to say to the American arts community, particularly artists who are HIV-positive?
Keep on producing and don’t be afraid of drawing on your status for inspiration. We as a subsection of a larger group have a unique perspective on life. It’s your trials and experiences that give your artwork the ability to tell a relevant and moving story. Honesty in art creates validity.

CLICK HERE to view the Gallery of Images

To see more of Matt Jackson’s art, log on
to www.matthewjackson.com.au.

Rhomylly Forbes is Book Review Editor of A&U.

March 2007