Emily McGhie Jackson

A Scottish artist exploring atmosphere and our perception of visual space, Emily McGhie Jackson blends the line between realities. Taking inspiration from the Scottish landscape, as well as scripted spaces such as urban architecture and video games, her work investigates the feeling of mentally occupying one space, whilst physically occupying another.

Using painting to work with the 2D plane and perspective, her work places the audience at impossible viewpoints, whilst incorporating imagery from false spaces such as screens and mirrors. These place the viewer in-between, with liminal spaces drawing them inside, inviting space for personal contemplation. This is evoked by her introspective practice, where she uses automatic painting along with phone photography to pull emotional images from her subconscious, showcasing how personal perspective shapes the way we see our environment. 

Painting primarily with Acrylic on board, Emily’s paintings exist as physical portals to another world, with the board physically separating the piece from its’ surroundings, whilst allowing the image to be unconfined by frame. Layering acrylic allows the artist to make quick decisions in an automatic way, creating surrealist spaces which play with the physical application of paint. Acrylic itself lending its artificial quality to the work, helping the illustrative style evoke both the dreamlike and digitally inspired qualities of the work. 

(b.2004) Emily studied a BA (Hons) for Fine Art: Painting, at Camberwell College of Arts (UAL). Is the winner of the Big Walls and Windows Project in 2023 and was shortlisted for the Scottish Portrait Awards. She has showcased her work both in London and across Scotland, with her first Solo Show ‘Thinking Space’, being held in Dundee.

She is currently based @the_mill_dundee