Skip to main content

theobennett
8th May 2019

Art in Mancunia: Jas Sykes

Our latest Art in Mancunia artist, Jas Sykes, provides us with two brightly coloured paintings which explore the universal themes of ‘intimacy and isolation’
Categories:
TLDR
Art in Mancunia: Jas Sykes
Jas Sykes provides us with two brightly coloured paintings for the Art in Mancunia project.

To quote its creator, “a juxtaposition of tension and intimacy” is one of the qualities that characterises the work of student artist, Jas Sykes. This sense of duality, of emotions at an odds with one another, comes across in her use of both hot and cold colours side by side, and in the boldness of the black outlines of her figures on top of the more washed out, murky background.

Intimacy is conjured in these paintings in the way that Jas depicts her subjects nude, anonymous and yet with lines, bumps and textures upon the body accentuated, breathing life into the figures. The lack of a face on either of these subjects removes any sense of identity and allows us to focus on the body itself, and urges us to look in different places to where we might be accustomed to with portraits to find ways of emotionally connecting with the paintings.

Jas Sykes

In spite of this, it’s hard not to feel a sense of melancholy and isolation when looking upon the image of the blue, faceless figure sitting, curled up, almost in a foetal position. These are feelings with which we’re all familiar. Whether intentional or not, I find something quite androgynous about this figure in particular, possibly allowing for a kind of universal relatability to the emotions expressed through its body language.

Jas Sykes

Jas’s art succeeds in coming across as fresh, being eye-catching with its employment of bright colours.

Come catch it in its full 1m x 1m glory at the Art in Mancunia exhibition at Antwerp Mansion on Thursday 9th May.


More Coverage

The Tate Modern’s new exhibition, ‘Electric Dreams’, offers a sneak peek into the world of pre-internet technology, inviting the viewer to mourn the passing of old innovators
The Mancunion looks back at its 60-year evolution of tone on its anniversary, and how the art of the student voice is ever changing
Marchers at Reclaim the Night 2024 use art to fight for female safety in the form of placards and signs, reminiscent of generations of women before them
At the time Richard Davis didn’t know that his photography of the red-brick walls and dark canals of nineties Manchester would become a testament to an era in time before everything changed forever