John Gerrard - The Layered Onion

In the Artwork Spotlight series of blog posts, The Layered Onion highlights a specific work by an artist in the community. These works could range from short stories to visual art to music and more!

Today, John Gerrard (he/they) will be sharing his piece “More in Both Directions.” John took the time to participate in a Q+A with The Layered Onion, but before we share the dialogue, here’s a little bit more about John in their own words:

“I am a multidisciplinary artist, with a focus on visual art.

As a visual artist I’m currently focused on making drawings that are text based and speculative. The work is meant to be enjoyed for its form and aesthetic quality, but also invites investigations into the strands of literal meaning. The text is readable in linear and non linear ways, and is themed on subjects such as the mind, free will and how that relates to whether we discover or create identities.

order to the disorderly nature of the vast and varied text. It holds the tension of a middle zone. The finished work is presented as an image that is playful with the rational and the chaotic. There is structure and randomness coexisting with design.”

*John Gerrard, More in Both Directions. Fine art rag paper, archival pigment-based inks. January 2021.*

Want to see it closer? John has some zoomed in views available here that are worth digging into to engage further with the piece.

Getting into the questions:

This piece is so meticulous and detailed. How did you approach creating it? What were your initial starting thoughts?

I had pieces of paper that were cut into triangles which I used to draw/write about some of my experiences in the psych ward as well as my mental health journey in general. It’s meant to be a speculative zone where I can explore ideas and memories in a way that helps me organize and reflect.

I find the use of shapes, both the diamonds and the diagrams fascinating in how they break up the piece and emphasize certain statements. What was your thought process behind these?

I think using the shapes is a good way to highlight and emphasize like you said. It’s a way to organize the content as well as give the eyes something else to look at.

What inspired you in terms of color scheme?

I really love the aesthetic of white line on black. For me, it evokes a sort of chalkboard feel, as well as the line being like light in the dark.

I notice you kept cross outs throughout the work. Did these start out as intentional or a combination of spontaneousness?

I keep the cross outs to be honest with the process. There are some things I don’t feel comfortable keeping on the page, or places where I make mistakes. It’s human!

You repeat the title throughout the work. Is it a representation of a constant thought? A mantra?

I live with a type of bipolar, and the title represents that excessive happiness as well as sadness that I deal with sometimes. Finding a balance between the lows and the highs can be hard when you have bipolar.

Anything else about the work that you would want to share or say?

There are a lot of painful moments that I signify in this piece. It was therapeutic for me to process them on the page, as I changed my relationship with them as I went. If people have felt similar things I hope they feel less alone looking at the drawing.

Definitely a message that I can get behind. Thanks for sharing, John! You can see more of John’s work at their website.

Today, we’ll be sharing our very first artist spotlight! In this series of blog posts, we’ll get to know an artist in the community and learn a little more about them and their work.

For our first post, we will be featuring John F. Gerrard. John is sharing his artist statement and a little bit more about him. Take it away, John!

Photo by Emma Palm

I am a multidisciplinary artist, with a focus on visual art. In my teens and 20s I was active creatively as a musician, touring across North America and playing locally. During this time I got my feet wet with visual art, doing graphic design work for bands and small businesses. I went to ACAD with the intention to pursue a design degree, but became obsessed with creating with charcoal and paint. I majored in drawing at ACAD and then went to work at a commercial sign company. In 2016 I left to pursue art full-time.

In 2018 I was trained by the Canadian Mental Health Association as a peer support worker. Since then I’ve been developing my art practice with mental health advocacy work.

A highlight for me has been working with Branch Out Neurological Foundation, making images based on interactions with neuroscientists, and taking part in their charity events for three years in a row now.

In 2019 I had my first international show in Chicago as a part of the Some People Everybody exhibition. This multidisciplinary project examines the ethics, people, processes, and systems that constitute the maintenance of, and barriers to, health for human beings.

Here is John’s Artist Statement:

Formally, the work usually consists of compositions of multiple panels. I draw each panel by hand and then invert the black and white digitally. After they are inverted and in a grid, I mirror the piece both vertically and horizontally. This symmetry gives order to the disorderly nature of the vast and varied text. It holds the tension of a middle zone. The finished work is presented as an image that is playful with the rational and the chaotic. There is structure and randomness coexisting with design.

I’m influenced by other artists who approach their work without direct representation of the physical world, as well as makers who could be classified as “outsider” artists. I find myself coming back to the work of Jean Michel Basquiat, Hilma af Klint, and Agnes Martin, and I’m inspired by the way they make images. When I was at art college, I was exposed to the beatniks, as well as the godfather of beatniks, William Burroughs. His non-traditional use of text as well as those of the Dadaists motivate me to create in the way I do.

Being introspective, it is a very personal project. I think externalizing our inner worlds in this way can be very rewarding, and that so often our thoughts and our guesses at their implications swirl through our heads in an awful repetition. A lot of it I don’t think we’re aware of. By making this work, I continue to learn about myself, making conscious the issues and ideas I’m encountering.

These drawings are so natural and exciting to make. Working on each panel, I feel connected to something beyond, and that my language to do so is developing further with each image. There is a story being built between and within each piece, and it’s an exercise of rationality and intuition to find or make those next steps with it.

I’m often faced with conflicts that force me to rethink things and consider and reconsider possible end games, of what I could be suggesting or not suggesting inadvertently. I do my best to record that process on the page, as I want to reflect the realities of being conflicted or of not knowing. There is this back and forth, between doubt and feeling sure.

Art is a great space for us to experiment with hard topics. The drawings serve as a way for me to explore my own beliefs and values, by examining my thoughts through a physical process on the page.

You can check out more about John and his work by visiting his website www.johnfgerrard.com. Here’s a preview of some of John’s work: