Jessica Watson-Thorp is a Dubai-based painter who will be having an exhibition in New York’s Agora Gallery next month. With her paintings, she is interested in the effects of layering acrylic paint thickly and then carving texture out of it. She calls this texture topographic and then explores its ability to convey feeling. When figures appear in her work, they often take the form of butterflies or dancing women. She describes the Middle East as a “deeply beautiful and compelling” region and her work is an attempt to capture both personal experiences the physical environment. Here she talks to us about her influences and her latest body of work.
Q: Where are you from?
I hail from a small farming town in the far south of Australia. Our nearest city is Adelaide at three hours drive away. As a child, my siblings and I always found it scary to go to ‘The City’ as it was so noisy.
Q: How long have you been based in Dubai?
I have been based in Dubai for the past five years, although the Middle East has been my home for the past 14. I have made a home both in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.
Q: Have you exhibited anywhere in Dubai before?
Yes, I exhibited in Al Quoz back in 2014 but unfortunately that gallery has closed down now. Since then I have shown my work at the SIKKA Art Fair, at La Serre as part of their aspiring artist’s programme, and at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. I have also shown work at private corporate functions.
Q: What is your main source of inspiration?
I draw my inspiration from two main sources. The environment that surrounds us, and the experiences of women.
Q: Which regional artists do you follow?
I follow many artists from the MENA region. I had the pleasure of touring Hassan Sherif’s Studio before he passed and I also follow Ghada Amer avidly.
Q: Tell me about the exhibition in New York, how did it come about?
Funnily enough, Agora Gallery, the gallery I am now contracted with in New York found me on Instagram. We chatted for many months before deciding to work together. The exhibition I am involved in is a collective show called . It will be on from March 10-30 at Agora Gallery in NYC's Chelsea Art District.
Q: For those not in New York, where else can we see your work?
You can see the range of what I do online at www.jessicawatsonthorp.com and also on my social media channels: On Facebook under JWT Jessica Watson-Thorp and Instagram @jwtjessicawatsonthorp. In Dubai, some of my Middle Eastern pieces are hanging in the Al Fahidi Cultural District at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding and my studio in Jumeirah is open for private tours by appointment.
aseaman@thenational.ae
