Constipated Cat

Jack Haslam

My work is about friendship, loyalty and control. My love for animals has been a major influence in my life and is a driving force for my work. What others might consider minor and unimportant details are the things that inspire my work. I am fascinated by the minutiae of different animals: the gorilla’s cheeks and the anteater’s claws. My portraits of animals appear fanciful, majestic and, at times, desperate. My cognitive problems mean that I have difficulty relating to humans. I find them unfathomable at times. Animals help me manage my feelings of isolation and allow me to build bridges with people.

Although I see myself as a printmaker, I also paint, make models and take photographs. In my early work, I often used dolls which became the vessels of my hopes and dreams. My work enables me to act out concepts I find it hard to understand through other means. My need for control is a theme running through all subjects and media. I have to keep things still in order to record the moment. I am always searching for things that I think exist, but in fact do not. In my frustration, I try to make them materialise through my work. For this reason, I tend to use repetition and recurring images.

I had two one-man shows in 2018 (in London and Leicester). I am currently experimenting with digital embroidery and organising a wildlife conservation field trip. I have also secured funding from shape arts to make a film which is currently in progress. In 2019 I will be returning to London zoo after my first exhibition in 2015 to show my animal etchings as part of a new external display project.

My work is sold on the Mall Galleries Buy Art | Buy Now website and I have recently sold several pieces here and in my other exhibitions.