About the work

Jessie Makinson’s paintings and drawings are funhouse mirrors of historical and literary references, reflecting these allusions askew. There are 18th century brothel scenes and Georgian parlour games, ancient folklores and contemporary eco sci-fi. The titles of her works come from similarly diverse and diffuse sources; overheard snippets of conversation, quotes from cooking shows and 60s novels, anywhere really, and often taken out of context. Figures twist, bend, sit and splay at uncanny angles across unstable grounds. Their cool stares suffused with puckish ambiguity, simmering schemes, latent desires.

 

Date and country of birth

1985, GB

Career Highlights

Bad Sleeper, Lyles & King, NY, 2023; Hoof on Bone, François Ghebaly, LA, 2023; Stay here while I get a curse, Lyles & King, NY, 2021; Something Vexes Thee?, François Ghebaly, LA, 2021; Dangerous Pleasing, Lyles and King, NY, 2020; Nobody Axed You To, Fabian Lang, Zurich, 2020;Tender Trick, OMR, Mexico City, 2019; Machines of Desire, Simon Lee, London & Hong Kong 2022;Dancing in Dark Times, Pippy Houldsworth, London 2021;I See You, Victoria Miro, London, 2020; No Patience for Monuments, Perrotin, Seoul, 2019. Collections include: British Museum, London; Hessel Museum, New York; Long Museum, Shanghai; X Museum, Beijing.