Deborah Jack: 20 Years

Pen + Brush began 2022 with Deborah Jack: 20 years, a retrospective exhibition featuring twenty years of work by Deborah Jack (b. 1970, Netherlands). Jack’s work asserts new levels of relevancy as we deal with an increasingly COVID- riddled global climate where notions of identity and home are constantly becoming and reforming. This state of the in-between and our shared scattering is seen and felt deeply in Jack’s work. Short films show liminal spaces, water or landscapes, that are immersed in tones of grey and haze, usually paired with a requiem-like sound element, leading viewers to feel as though they are constantly on the precipice. This continuous push can be seen as a metaphor for trans culturalism and its aftermath within today’s globalized art world.