Jack Gormley

“Overall, my art is very much whatever whim I'm feeling in the moment. I find the idea of boxing myself into one set message to be intimidating, since I find art to be a very freeing process, so I think it's healthy to really just create without inhibitions. Often the messages of my work come back to various social concerns, particularly environmentalism and mental health awareness. Though, as Oscar Wilde once said, "All art is quite useless", and I like to carry this nihilistic mantra with me—I can't conquer the world, but I might be able to paint something pretty.

I've always grown up drawing, and then painting, and excluding the occasional hiatus, I don't think I've really ever stopped creating. To me, constantly pushing my work out into the world—even if that just means horrific sketches that I immediately throw out—is essential for my sanity.

At its heart, my art is an introspective exploration of life in the modern world. With it, I want to convey the sense of cacophony and discordance between internal and external worlds.

My art is entirely a reflection of my own identity, feelings, and experiences, as a teenager in 21st century Aotearoa. My work is deeply personal, and as such, it’s just as much a part of my identity and personal history as anything else in my life."