In The Studio With Vanessa Jackson RA

We take a peek inside the Royal Academicians workspace.

- Annekatrin Purkiss

When did you know you wanted to become an artist?

I loved drawing and painting as a child and, later, I had a fantastic art teacher for A-levels, Pauline Barker, at Dorking Grammar School. She only recommended Central School of Art and Design or Saint Martin’s School of Art, which is where I went, following my sister Gemma.

What was so special about Saint Martin’s in the 1970s?

The painting department was very good, as was the sculpture department. Although we didn’t know it at the time, we were introduced to something that didn’t reach other art schools until much later. In what was then called complementary studies, we did traditional history of art alongside critical art theory, with film studies and even creative writing.

How has that range of subjects influenced your later work?

One example would be my collaboration with the American poet, James Laughlin. We produced two fine art books: The House of Light and A Secret Language.

Do you see literature as a different form of artistic expression?

I’d never use the word “expression”. That would make it sound like a personal voice, and why should anybody be interested in that? I hope my voice is layered with those of people who have taught or influenced me. I’m much more interested in sharing what already exists, which is why geometry has always been important to me.