ARTIST JOHN RENO JACKSON is determined to make a profession out of his passion.
At just 26-years-old, he has studied and exhibited overseas, already has pieces in the National Gallery’s permanent collection, and was set to have his first solo show there this spring.
In the autumn, if COVID restriction allow, he will be representing the Cayman Islands at a prestigious Caribbean residency programme in Aruba.
The programme – Caribbean Linked VI – will see John Reno as one of 12 regional writers, artists and curators participating in the month-long event, which supports emerging creatives across the region.
“I think this (Aruba) is probably the most important residency programme I have attended yet,” he says. “I’m looking forward to meeting other young artists and seeing what concerns and ideas they have in their countries.
“I always see it is an honour to represent my country in any capacity, and it’s something that I wear proudly on my chest.”
TURNING PROFESSIONAL
Having been a professional artist for four years, John Reno has learnt that it takes a combination of talent and business acumen to be successful.
“To be a full-time artist comes with all of the standards of running any other business,” he says. “(This includes aspects) such as marketing, finance, admin…pretty much everything you expect from a company. The only difference is that it’s all by yourself.”
In the main, John Reno paints on canvas but also does a lot of mixed media, performative work, and drawings.
“The type of artwork that I make is purely based on experience,” he says. “I try to make work that captures the essence of a subject, rather than the representation of a subject. Recently, however, I’ve been exploring the relationship between those two ideas.”
CREATIVE JOURNEY
John Reno, who lives in West Bay, began his creative journey as a child, making comics, and drawing figures, as young as four-years-old. His father was an architect who encouraged creativity and design.
“I come from a long line of shipbuilders and draughtsmen, so I feel that the concept of ‘making’ has been in my bloodline for a while,” he says.
And although he studied art at high school, it wasn’t a subject that he was encouraged by teachers to pursue as a potential career.
“Most kids who ended up being artists from my generation, have had to figure it out for themselves,” he says.
But from the time he first dabbled in art, John Reno knew he want to make a living from his talents.
“It poured out of me, the thrill of discovering new ways of explaining ideas or emotions,” he says.
It hasn’t been an easy journey, with difficult decisions that included selling his car, and giving up a job, to follow his dream.
“But my support system, at its core, has really been my close family,” he says. “They are the ones who have encouraged me to chase this opportunity.”
STUDIES
John Reno studied painting and drawing at London Art Academy in 2015. Then in 2020, he was selected for an experimental residency programme in Barreiro, Portugal at the PADA Studios.
“Going to that residency programme was probably the biggest game changer in my career; it allowed me to not only learn but also be involved in a community of other emerging artists,” he says.
Cayman features prominently in John Reno’s artwork, which he creates in his small studio in George Town’s industrial estate.
“A lot of the inspiration for my artwork comes from local subjects, people
I meet, experiences I have, primarily our relationships with our environments,” he says. “I also look into regional art history and movements, as well as the notion of subverting traditional western norms in art culture. I’m always learning, and I hope to inspire people to never stop challenging the status quo.”
UPCOMING BOOK
As well as his visual art endeavours, John Reno is bringing out a book in the autumn.
“The book is a photographic journal over the last seven years in the Cayman Islands,” he says. “In 2015, I got my first camera, and ever since then I have been documenting Cayman’s shifts and changes.”
In 2020, during the pandemic, he began interviewing Caymanians to record their perspectives on change.
“The book looks to document a place in time in the history of this country and record the people living through the effects of 50 years of constant development,” he says.
The book will be available online.
This article appears in the Spring/Summer 2022 issue of InsideOut magazine, now available at magazine stands and delivered to select homes in eco-tote bags sponsored by LIVING.KY.
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