Jasmir Creed takes a step back and observes the world around her

Jasmir Creed explores in depth urban cities around the UK, describing herself as a ‘quiet observer’ or a ‘flaneuse’ Jasmir Creed perfectly encapsulates the movement of urban life in her works. In life many people spend too much time consumed by the hustle and bustle, the idea that if we don’t move quick enough life will pass us by. But Creed is able to take a step back and observe the everyday, using her observations of intriguing, urban architecture and of the blur of the people around her in her pieces. Psychogeography plays a key part in Creed’s thought-process, examining, through her artistic practice, the effect of geographical locations on the emotions and behaviour of individuals. Her works give an interesting perspective as she has an individual view of the world, one which is intriguing as she is able to pick apart parts of the world around her as an artist.

The thing I like most about her works is the kind of disorientation the different layers and angles the works give the viewer. She plays beautifully with perspective, motion and contrasting colours to create pieces that disillusion.

Her current running exhibition is ‘dystopolis’ in the Victoria gallery, Liverpool. This gives a brilliant historical setting to her modern, urban paintings. The pieces inspired by Liverpool’s architecture immediately caught my eye. As someone who has lived in Liverpool most of my life, I enjoyed seeing Creed’s interpretation of my cities’ architecture. Seeing these pieces allowed me to analyse a new side to Liverpool’s architecture. ‘Sometimes lost’ for example explores the Liverpool cathedral also known as ’paddy’s wigwam’ to most Liverpudlians, the eye is drawn to the upside-down cathedral which is contrasted with the flux of the crowd which appear normally. The crowd is almost consumed by the cathedral as you look towards the back of it, I like this blur she has created here to further this idea of fast movement, as well as alienation.

Another piece that caught my eye was ‘unheard voices’ the name itself brings about some interesting connotations that one can explore. I am obsessed with the background that surrounds the train platform in this painting, the way the station is engulfed by this kind of swirl of colour. All these figures move on unknowing of who is observing them.

Although I enjoy her exhibition in the Victoria Gallery, I prefer the works she discussed in her lecture such as ‘Smog’, 2015 and ‘Shadow’, 2016. ‘Shadow’ has this flowy, fluid effect created by her use of Ink and mark making. I like the juxtaposition between the various sectors of the piece.

I am definitely captivated by Creed’s subject matter and the concepts behind her works. Her work is unique and her canvases convey something mysterious and alluring, highlighted greatly by her interesting perspective on the world around her.

Should we be putting a contemporary outlook on classical artworks?

I’ve started to ask myself this question when visiting older galleries such as the Walker art gallery in Liverpool and Manchester City Art Gallery, both places that also display more contemporary works. It is difficult not to view these works in a contemporary setting as today’s issues directly affect us visiting these galleries. Works that were once accepted solely as beautiful art pieces are now being questioned for their subject matter and its direct effect on those who view these pieces in modern art galleries. With these works, curators are now given the chance to re-evaluate and possibly raise issues on homophobia, racism, sexism and representation in art. As a result, works that were created hundreds of years ago remain extremely relevant today.

Manchester city gallery exhibits a range of pre-Raphaelite works, most controversially in recent years ‘Hylas and the nymphs’ by John William Waterhouse. The painting depicts the seduction of the youth Hylas by female water nymphs, a Greek and Roman legend. The young girls here are shown as seductresses, erotic creatures, something that is outrageous to view in the context of the 21st century. The depiction of women in art has been something of great discussion over the years and paintings like this one allow us to question what is right and wrong in art now and what we are willing to accept. Not all Women are Femme Fatales or here solely for the viewing pleasure of men. The removal of the Waterhouse from the Manchester City Gallery in 2018 was a brilliant curatorial move and prompted many important questions on the role these types of works have in 21st century Britain. Gallery rooms like the one that the Waterhouse currently resides need to catch up with the modern day and start to challenge the way women are perceived through art. I don’t believe we should censor these works but instead encourage people to question the art world.

There is a contemporary art exhibition currently at the gallery by Martin Parr called ‘return to Manchester, he is a photographer who records through photos everyday lives. Through his photos he captures a glimpse of the current times and makes comments through these on religion, technology and sexuality. Parr was inspired to create photographs by living in Manchester whilst studying, he gained a curiosity of the lives of people around him and the diversity and richness of the city. The gallery commissioned him to create a display of photographs of Manchester in modern day. I love how these photographs explore the diverse culture of Manchester and highlight the importance of acceptance of all races, cultures and sexualities and how all these different types of people can live as one.