Jacqui Hallam

Jacqui Hallam was the winner of the John Moores Painting Prize 2018, and recently showcased her most recent work at the Walker Art Gallery. This I have visited in person before this lecture so I knew immediately I was going to enjoy her work. She works in her studio in Devon in her house or garden. She treats her museum space as she treats her studio. Her interest in painting continues to grow and she refers to it as visual language. I agree as I believe you can read something by just visually looking at something, there is always deeper meaning behind people's work. Jacqui Hallam didn't want to be a figurative painter because she's quite shy and wouldn't want to talk about the narrative. I was surprised she said she was shy as I thought she spoke really well alongside someone speaking with her.

She enjoys combining different paints together and deeply observes paint on the surface. I find it interesting how she looks at the chemistry of paint, such as using ion oxide to make stains. She wanted something physically and chemically active. I find it fascinating how she closely looks at chemistry of paint, as it's something I've never put much thought into. I love how passionate she is about her work and I admire her experimentation. Her work in the flesh made me feel peaceful, and I enjoy the vibrancy of colours used. She has definitely inspired me to try different mediums and mix them together to see what interesting outcomes I could make. Her technique and the way she works is pretty messy and intuitive, which is how I work. I felt like I connected with her as a painter. She has a definite love and passion for paint, and anything in her eye can be used as paint. I think this is a super cool outlook to have. Hallam never knows where a painting starts or ends, which again is similar to how I think when it comes to creating art. She said that if someone doesn't buy her work shed still add to it and change it to see how it would become and evolve. I got the interpretation that this artist loves to see new and whacky outcomes. Overall I enjoyed this artist and her work, as its very pretty and reminds me of a beautiful fairytale like garden.