Art possesses a remarkable capacity to weave together intricate and immersive worlds, drawing us into realms where the boundaries between reality and imagination can blur. Stepping into this exhibition, I was greeted by the evocative words ‘Dreams. Fantasies. Rituals. Imagined places. Far away lands’, and it became evident that this wasn’t merely a display of artwork, but rather intricate portals into ‘Judtopia,’ offering unique glimpses into the imaginative universe crafted by Manchester-based artist, Jude Wainwright. Showcasing twenty new and unseen paintings and drawings, FACE-OFF is a poignant and thought-provoking exhibition that brings to life the artist’s internal world, thanks to the curatorial support of Short Supply, responsive writing by James McColl, and visual identity by George Gibson. A collaborative effort that coalesced seamlessly around the works, forming what felt like a supportive ecosystem that nurtured the artist’s vision.
I met with Wainwright on location at Saan1, an exhibition space housed in a three-story building in the Northern Quarter that provides a vital platform for creatives to showcase their work, share their visions, and foster dialogue within the artistic community. Within the space, Wainwright’s works were spread across all three floors, with each room feeling like a new moment of encounter and entry into her unique and multifaceted ways of entering ‘Judtopia’.
Katy Morrison: Jude, could you start by telling us what inspired you to create ‘Judtopia’? The themes of dreams, fantasies, and faraway lands are very evocative—what does this imaginative universe represent for you, and how do these themes influence your work?
Jude Wainwright: Since childhood I’ve always enjoyed creating little fantasy spaces, I would make cardboard rooms for my Barbie or little box dens for my cat to play in. Later on I massively got into The Sims game, I could spend hours and hours building my dream world to put my Sim Jude in.
Judtopia is on a similar level I guess, it was born from an intense longing to run away to this special, perfect world of my own creation. A place where pretty things and happiness reign supreme. I think mental health has a part to play too, Judtopia is a world in which I have ultimate control, as it’s completely my own making. The idea of regaining ‘control’ through creating this special land of reliability and order and everything ‘just so’ in order to soothe feelings of anxiety is something that recurs often in my artwork.
We’ve all had moments of nostalgia and longing. It’s these exact feelings I have for Judtopia, and by painting it and exploring it I can bring it to life. Painting myself in this world manifests my dreams. ‘Second to the right, and straight on ’til morning’, it is my own Never Never land (with no Captain Hook). And until I’m in a position to run away and build my dream castle in the clouds, this is where I shall go instead.
KM: The ‘other-worldly’ experience of the exhibition was enhanced by the addition of objects that either directly related to the paintings or inspired their imagery. Dotted throughout the space, these objects acted as tangible reference points for the paintings, creating a semi-immersive experience that at once allowed us to enter more deeply into your artistic process; whilst also placing us literally in between the real and the imagined; further blurring the lines between our lived reality and the fictional world that you have created. How has having these objects on display alongside your paintings influenced your perception of your work or the way viewers engage with it?
JW: Having the objects on display was an inspired decision made by the curators Short Supply, but something I’m so glad they did. My studio is filled with objects and trinkets, things that bring me joy, important mementos from my life. I love being surrounded by these items, they make me so very happy and spark creativity in my soul! I’m an incredibly sentimental person and attach emotions to objects so easily. In bringing some of these into the show I hoped the viewer would somehow absorb some of these feelings and envelop them into this world of my creation.
KM: This solo show, and the resulting body of works, marks a significant shift for your artistic practice. You mentioned how in recent years you’ve abandoned the pursuit of gaining external approval, with a self-confessed ‘giving up caring what people think’; embracing an authentic sense of self, and finding value in your own thoughts, feelings, ideas and desires. With this, it seems like you have allowed yourself to explore a more profoundly personal and introspective approach to self-portraiture. Leading to an artistic ‘world,’ characterised by unfiltered self-expression, where your paintings can serve as a therapeutic outlet. How has this shift towards embracing your authentic self and focusing on personal expression impacted your work and your development as an artist?
JW: I feel a sense of freedom with my work that I’ve never really felt before. The works I created for the show have always been ‘within me’ but I’ve never really allowed them to come to light before and now I’m excited to see what’s to come! There’s a great confidence that comes with knowing you are being true to yourself, I compare it to entering a debate with all the facts as opposed to researching nothing, your words have more meaning and impact.
KM: One of key things in your creative process is how your work is deeply intertwined with your subconscious, with the paintings often inspired by dreams and fleeting thoughts that you perceive as messages from an inner self. I very much see this intimate dialogue is vividly reflected in the exhibition, where each work reveals a fragment of a larger narrative about self-identity, mental health, and the human condition. The exhibition’s title, FACE-OFF, encapsulates the evolution of this narrative, whilst also denoting a form of confrontation. The paintings feel like a meeting point where you can explore uncharted territories of the subconscious, blending lived experience and imagination in a bid to play out and make sense of an internal world that can often feel fragmented and chaotic. Can you explain why you chose the title FACE-OFF and how it relates to the themes explored in the exhibition?
JW: My boyfriend is a big ice hockey fan and over Christmas 2023 I remember he had a game on the TV, which is where the word ‘face-off’ originally got stuck in my head. Words get stuck in my head like ear-worms and I couldn’t stop repeating this phrase over and over and the more I thought about it and the symbolism it created the more I thought, Yeah! This fits!
With a number of the paintings there is often an unseen aggressor, never depicted but more hinted upon. Expressions of mistrust or outfits similar to armour, they all seem to be confronting someone or something, a face-off is happening.
In a deeper sense, as we’ve said, this exhibition was a pivotal moment for me, it was the moment I decided to bare all and forget any past hang ups I had about what my art ‘should’ be. It’s a confrontation of my past self and introducing a new. The meaning behind the name is multi-layered, but ultimately it just felt right in my gut, so I went with it.
KM: Your paintings are imbued with an intriguing performative and theatrical quality, with each figure engaged in a silent drama that unfolds on the canvas. The exaggerated expressions and dramatic postures of the subjects transform each piece into a scene from an ongoing psychological theatre, drawing viewers into the intimate, often tumultuous, moments of self-confrontation that characterises this exhibition. When viewing these works, I couldn’t help but draw a comparison with the surrealist works of Leonora Carrington. Much like Carrington’s works, Your paintings have within them a multitude of surreal symbols and meanings that lie in wait to be discovered. Has surrealism, or artists like Leonora Carrington, ever influenced your work? If so, how have you incorporated surreal symbols to convey deeper meanings?
JW: It was my birthday not long before the show and a close friend of mine bought me a book: ‘New Surrealism’ by Robert Zeller. It’s brilliant, but as I flicked through the pages I realised ‘oh wow, are my paintings surrealism?!’ I felt so elated like I’d joined a fun new club, some of my most favourite artists are surrealists and one of them is Leonora Carrington! I also adore Dorothea Tanning, I saw a film of her once and in it she lifts a piece of her work and exclaims ‘please don’t ask me to explain’, and I love that because sometimes you simply can’t, it’s almost as if she was giving me permission to just do more and think less. Looking at Carrington and Tanning’s work reminds me that my work can be whatever I want it to be and there’ll be someone out there that resonates, as I do with theirs!
With regards to symbolism, quite literally all the objects or scenarios are plucked from my subconscious so I’m sure some things mean something and they do, but only retrospectively, I didn’t begin the paintings with an agenda really. I enjoy seeing what others interpret from my work and what stands out to them, like looking at a rorschach print, some images could mean completely different things to a different mind. I quite like crows for instance so I paint them, but some may see them as devilish and see the painting as fearful. Both ring true; it’s fascinating.
KM: Running through most of the paintings is the leitmotif of the black and white diamond leotard reminiscent of that worn by a clown or jester; imbuing the work with a self-deprecating humour that seems to function as a way to navigate an awkward and uncomfortable presentation of oneself. There’s not much space to hide in a leotard. As an item of clothing, it reveals your body, contouring its shape and form, but also has a distinct lack of places to conceal something. It puts you fully on show.
The repetition of this costume contributes to an evolving parody of the figure(s) within the work; and it’s very easy to forget that the paintings are self-portraiture as the quasi-magical landscapes and the surreal and borderline absurd objects lend themselves to an artificiality that distances you from the real. It’s like you adopt a character-based role, becoming a ‘kunstfigur’ of sorts that is shaped and formed. Can you tell us more about the leotard? How do you feel this motif contributes to the themes of self-portraiture and self-exploration in your work?
JW: The leotard is a funny one, for years I’ve done drawings of myself wearing this diamond patterned leotard. I found it easier than constantly thinking up what clothes to put myself in and, similar to a cartoon, it’s easier for the viewer to recognize that ‘this is the character of the ‘Jude’, if I’m always in the same outfit. It was born from necessity really but has now become its own thing. I’m a fan of repetition and ritualistic behaviour too and painting the diamond patterns brings me a wonderful sense of anxiety reducing meditation. The pattern also adds depth to the portraits, the stretched or crumpled black and white diamond shapes so wonderfully depict the contours of my body, it’s challenging but I like that I’m quite a ‘limby’ person, I like awkward angles of arms and legs, the shapes they can make and sometimes unnatural positions. None of this would be seen in my work if I were in baggy, concealing clothing. The leotard allows me to make fun body shapes, create the negative spaces I desire. It’s another control thing, really.
KM: As I moved through the exhibition, the spatial arrangement felt like it encouraged a journey of discovery. With each floor and room presenting a different aspect of your psyche, from the deeply introspective to the exuberantly imaginative. This deliberately careful curation not only showcased the versatility of your practice but also felt like an invitation to viewers to construct their own narratives, piecing together the fragments of your inner world in a manner that was both personal and universal. This is very much down to the curatorial prowess of Short Supply, as well as the expanded ‘world-building’ through the accompanying text and visual identity. How has working alongside others and having your work presented in this curated format influenced your perspective or approach to your art, and how do you see this experience shaping your future artistic work?
JW: Working with Short Supply, George Grace Gibson and James McColl has been quite simply, incredible. I used to be very worried about giving up aspects of my practice to someone else as there’s always a fear that they won’t quite ‘get you’ and so what is presented isn’t an accurate representation. These guys seemingly reached into my soul though, they saw me truly and helped me take my show to levels I could not have reached alone. There are things that I can do but there are people that can do them better. There’s an extreme tiredness but absolute focus that comes with creating a new body of work too, you feel it in your bones. My mind was on painting only. It’s a very insular activity, so I wasn’t in a head space to think about how others would see me or my work, as I had purposely turned those thoughts off months before in my efforts to create these untethered paintings. Asking for help with the other factors allowed me to maintain my output and maintain this bubble of creativity I was in. I’ll never go back to going it alone again.
In navigating FACE-OFF, we are reminded of the importance of confronting our own inner worlds, breaking free from imposed limitations, and embracing the freedom to create with authenticity. Meeting yourself in a place where you are finally able to be free, and able to dance for the first time knowing that everyone is watching in awe.
Jude Wainwright, FACE-OFF was at Saan1, Manchester, 3 – 11 May 2024.
Katy Morrison is a curator and researcher based in Manchester.
Published 08.06.2024 by Jazmine Linklater in Interviews
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