Born and raised in the Cayman Islands,
John Reno Jackson is an interdisciplinary artist based in London, England. He draws inspiration from his Caymanian/British heritage and the dynamic environment surrounding him. He is currently pursuing an MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art.
Jackson's artistic journey began with foundational courses in painting and drawing at the Art Academy London in 2015. After a educational hiatus, he partook in TURPS Correspondence Course from 2020 to 2022, learning from Katrina Blannin, Phil Allen, John Bunker, and Gil Ord. Between 2022 and 2024, he attended BFA courses from The Slade School of Fine Art, UCL. He studied under the artists Dr. Onya McCausland, Phoebe Unwin, Liz Rideal, Peter Davies, and Neil Jeffries RA. He is currently pursuing an MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art, where he is a recipient of the prestigious Sir Frank Bowling Scholarship, and has made history as the first Caymanian to attend the school.
His artwork has been showcased in numerous exhibitions, “Gestures of the Unseen”, TERN Gallery, Bahamas (2024), "The Nomenclature of Colours III", The Slade School of Fine Art, Corner 7, (2024), “Conversations with the Past - In the Present Tense”, NGCI (2023), “Caribbean Linked VI”, Atelier 89’, Aruba (2022), and most notably his solo show "a heron amongst the storm", NGCI (2022). Jackson has been honoured to receive grants from CATAPULT I & II (2020, 2022), organised by Kingston Creative, Fresh Milk Barbados, and AFJ. He was the first Caymanian to attend the PADA Studios residency program in Barreiro, Portugal, in 2020 and again in 2023. In the summer of 2022, he had the privilege of attending Caribbean Linked VI at Atelier 89' in Aruba.
His multimedia exploration encompasses themes of memory, preservation, isolation, and identity. Jackson's work reflects current and historical contexts within the Cayman Islands and the Caribbean region. He uses diverse materials and techniques to integrate traditional Caymanian crafts, such as Silver Thatch rope, with found objects like fabrics, dirt, sand, and discarded ephemera. Jackson is intrigued by the contrasting values assigned to objects and their inherent identities. His work investigates the narratives from an artwork's experience with nature, culture, and the viewer. Recently, he has been experimenting with placing artwork outdoors, exposing it to human interaction and environmental conditions, and uniting multiple narratives.
With his works becoming a part of the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands' permanent collection (in 2020, 2021, and 2022), Jackson is honoured to contribute to his homeland's cultural legacy.
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