Anthony Jennison

An artistic journey – learning about community and collaboration

Anthony Jennison has been on a journey. From growing up in North Yorkshire, to studying Fine Art & Illustration at Coventry University, and then to accept a place at the prestigious Royal College of Art (RCA) in London, he now returns to his Yorkshire roots. Much greater than his physical journey has been his creative and emotional journey.

Early Days

As a child he loved to draw and paint. At Scarborough College he was the only student in his year group who wanted to pursue a career in art. Recognising his commitment, his teachers allowed him access to the art space and materials whenever he had free time. He saw art as a way to tell stories and with this in mind decided to concentrate on illustration during the first few years of his undergraduate course.

A Catalyst

Anthony still paints and sees this as an integral part of his ongoing practice and method. However, in the final year of the BA course his work took an unexpected turn. He now feels that this was the particular point when he started producing ‘legitimate’ art. His work became more emotional and conceptual. At the time he was grieving the loss of his grandmother. Family, particularly his grandparents, seem to have played an important role in Anthony’s journey. His grandfather is creatively minded and encouraged his drawing and painting. Three of his major pieces of art relate directly to family relationships. ‘Confession’, his final BA exhibition piece, was created to enable him to understand and deal with bereavement. Haptic Absence, a video and music collaboration, was developed in response to the Motor Neurone Disease and Alzheimer’s experienced by his other grandmother; whilst his latest project, Masc and Manage, was inspired by the sharing of worries over tea drinking rituals with others and his own understanding of his mental wellbeing.

Confession, 2018

This work is a journey through the grieving process. The stages of bereavement are made tangible by the bricks that were produced by Anthony as he experienced grief. Each was dated and their imperfections were manifestations of his emotional state. The viewer follows the journey and sees themselves reflected in their pearlescent surfaces. The title came from

an initial idea to build a full-size confessional box. Such places can allow people to step away from the fast-paced world, giving people time to reflect and time to come to terms with bereavement and other concerns.

Confession was selected to be shown at the 2018 annual New Designers Exhibition in London. It was there that Dr Kevin Walker became aware of Anthony’s work. After viewing the exhibition Kevin contacted Anthony and invited him out for coffee. He asked if Anthony would like to study an MA in Information Experience Design at the RCA. The course was starting in four weeks time. Without hesitation, Anthony said yes.

Influences

As a teenager, Anthony had a strong admiration for the new wave of Young British Artists who attended Goldsmiths and the RCA in the late 1980s. Tracey Emin had made a particular impression. He respected her ability to communicate narrative and raise issues of social concern. To be offered a place at the RCA was a dream come true. Other influential artists include; Pierre Huyghe, Jeremy Deller and Mark Rothko.

Tenancy, 2018

Some of his earlier work is quite personal. Tenancy, 2018, saw him explore the link between the manmade and natural by placing painted constructs in a disused quarry near his family home in Pickering. The manufactured material placed in the quarry was painted an intense pink. When asked about this colour choice he explains that he finds the colour comforting. Over time he also reflected on the choice with regards to his masculinity and the difficulty that men often have in expressing emotion. Anthony enjoyed using the outside space in Yorkshire. When young, much of his exposure to art had been through exhibitions organised by the North York Moors National Park, although he also enjoyed trips to galleries in Harrogate, Leeds and The Hepworth at Wakefield.

Requiem 1, 2018

Similar pink constructs appeared in Requiem 1, 2018, when they were placed in the open space created by a district heating system in a suburb of Berlin. This saw a shift beyond the merely visual. The acoustics of the pipes and abandoned buildings were recorded to form an accompanying soundtrack. Over time, Anthony’s work has become more interactive and more community orientated.

In Haptic Absence he collaborated with musician Dimitris Menexopoulos to explore the loss of communication experienced through conditions such as Alzheimer’s and MND. He had to learn new practical skills to undertake this project. Although on the same course, Dimitris was living in Greece at the time, so both had to make use of technology to collaborate effectively.

Default, 2019

Technology has become increasingly important in Anthony's practice. In Default, 2019, he explored Artificial Intelligence. Maintaining his commitment to art as a story telling tool, he formed a narrative of a corrupted AI ‘entity’ that begins to feel human emotion. The installation describes that journey of crossing the border between the public and private image from a firstperson perspective. When asked if he will develop his work with technology further, he explains that he sees it as one resource in an artist’s toolkit. It has both benefits and limitations. It is part of modern life and needs to be used in art to enhance experience and reflect a reality. However, he cannot envisage a day when technology could independently produce art.

Masc and Manage

His latest project, Masc and Manage, is on a larger scale than anything he has produced before. This made studio space much more important. He was fortunate to rent an affordable art space in Brixton from the charity Artists Studio Company (ASC). Although the RCA allocated space, it was intended for design work rather than large scale making. In 2019 ASC introduced a recent graduate scheme, offering workspaces in its Brixton, Croydon and Rotherhithe studios at subsidised rents to artists who have graduated in the last three years. Anthony found himself working as part of a community of artists in Brixton.

Then Covid changed everyone’s plans. Anthony moved back to Pickering and graduated his MA remotely in Yorkshire. The issue of studio space was solved by using a shipping container located in the yard of his family’s construction business. He continues to collaborate with designers in London who were working with him on textiles for the merino wool he will use for his tea cosy. Difficult subjects are interrogated in Anthony’s projects, but he makes it clear he also wants to bring enjoyment to these interactions. Masc and Manage illustrates this perfectly; a giant knitted tea cosy is being constructed as a travelling installation that will highlight the danger of male suicide.

The Tour

Originally the experience would have toured the country in 2020, but departure has been delayed, with plans still being made. The research behind the project was sourced from a Samaritans report (2019) about the prevalence of suicide in men aged 45-59. It is planned that the tea cosy will tour 35 locations stopping at Working Men’s Clubs, community centres and empty retail outlets. Venues that are innately accessible. DIY activities will be run in and around the tea cosy and, of course, tea will be served. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn and share valuable skills, whilst building interpersonal relations with others. The sessions will also signpost people to access support from organisations, charities and the NHS. At a national level Anthony spoke with mental health charities like SANE but he hopes to focus on local organisations who will also be encouraged to get involved at each location. Once Covid has stopped wreaking havoc on people’s plans, the tea cosy will be loaded into the back of a van and tour dates will be announced. Anthony is currently seeking funding for the ‘Masc and Manage’ initiative and further information will be announced in the near future.

Changes Ahead

Anthony feels the Arts are changing. He has moved away from a view of artist as producer and viewer as consumer. He has a vision of a new wave where interaction is primary. Interaction between artists, between public and art and between artist and public. Multi-disciplinary work is becoming more accessible. He believes that the term artist will come to describe someone who operates and collaborates with others in multiple spheres and stands away from commercial dominance. He understands community art practice in its widest sense, where everyone can make a contribution.

He is determined to find a way to work with people in truly collaborative ways. He never wants to be an artist who runs a workshop where others produce at his behest. Art is envisaged as an engine for enabling everyone to explore their creativity as individuals and instigators. One of Anthony's dreams is to set up a community art space in rural Yorkshire. He is attracted to art spaces such as the Left Bank in Leeds but knows these rarely exist outside cities. Having grown up in Yorkshire, he is conscious of both the exclusion from the arts and the social isolation felt by many people living in villages and small towns. Anthony has come a long way already. He has learnt how to see the arts as an emotional tool, to work collaboratively with others and to interrogate how art can benefit society. At only 23, Anthony Jennison still has so much more to offer the Art world and local communities in Yorkshire.