James Jack (artist)


James Jack is a contemporary artist based in Singapore.

Early life and education

Jack was raised on the East side of Manhattan, lived in Kyoto during the late 1990s and has lived in Asia Pacific for the past two decades. Jack received a bachelor of arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College studying with Gary Burnley, Sandy Skoglund, and Joel Sternfeld and completed advanced studies in Japanese at the Stanford Inter-University Center for Japanese Studies. He completed his master of arts degree in Japanese Art History at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and completed his education with a Ph.D. in the Painting Department with , and at Tokyo University of the Arts.

Career

Jack was a Crown Prince Akihito Scholar pursuing artistic research in Tokyo from 2008-2010. He became a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellow at Social Art Lab from Kyushu University from 2016 to 2017. Currently he is an Assistant Professor of Art Practice at Yale-NUS College in Singapore.

Selected artwork

Sunset House, 2010-present

Jack created a permanent community artwork titled Sunset House: The House as Language of Being for the Setouchi Triennale in the former site of a clubhouse for stone quarry workers on the island of Shodo.

Molokai Window, 2018

Jack worked extensively with community members on the island of Molokai following their protocols for community collaboration for the solo exhibition Molokai Window held at Honolulu Museum of Art in 2018 supported by .

Sea Birth trilogy, 2017-2020

Sea Birth trilogy is composed of sea spirits, love amidst violence and rebirth. Sea Birth one was exhibited at Museum of the Sky in 2016, Sea Birth two was exhibited at Ichihanari Art Festival in Okinawa during 2018 and Sea Birth three is exhibited at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Art Gallery and Donkey Mill Art Center in 2020. Selections from the work have also been screened at , BARRAK alternative art space and at National University of Singapore.

Exhibitions

His artworks engaging with social and ecological environments have been included in numerous exhibitions including: Honolulu Museum of Art ; Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore ; Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art ; Setouchi International Art Festival ; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art ; Institute of Contemporary Art Singapore ; Busan Biennale Sea Art Festival ; and the Echigo-Tsumari Triennial. His latest artwork in the exhibition Inundation: Art and Climate Change is currently touring from Honolulu to the Island of Hawai‘i.

Writings

His writings have been published in Shima, Art Asia Pacific, The Japan Times, Modern Art Asia, LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore, Satoshi Koyama Gallery and The Contemporary Museum of Hawai‘i.

Artist Collective

Jack is one of the founding members of the artist collective that began in 2014 with and based on their love of earth. WDA exhibitions and projects include the 2015, 2015, 2017 and . Upcoming projects include a performative work based on local residents’ stories of dirt “Soilstory” to be presented at Suzu 2020 that is currently postponed to 2021.

Residencies

Jack has been artist in residence at the , Vermont Studio Center, , Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, and the Orford Center.

Media

Inundation: Art and Climate Change in the Pacific

Jaimey Hamilton Faris and Azusa Takahashi
2020

In Praise of Shadows

Michelle Ho
2017

One-hundred Stories Told by Art{{Cite web|title=九大百年 美術をめぐる物語 ｜ 福岡県立美術館|url=https://fukuoka-kenbi.jp/exhibition/2016/kenbi6951.html|access-date=2020-06-29|website=福岡県立美術館 福岡市天神にある県立美術館の公式ホームページ。福岡県にゆかりのある作家の作品、福岡県の美術動向に関わる作品を中心に収集し、その調査研究をもとにした成果を企画展やコレクション展でご紹介しています。また、いま生まれつつあるアートシーンにも目を向け、積極的に紹介しています。|language=ja}}

Masahiro Ushiroshōji
2016

Literature