Adele Jackson's latest work Beyond Words at Thistle Hall Gallary this week uses a deaf model, Sara Pivac Alexander, to sign fragments of poetry about hands from a book by American poet Cole Swensen 'The Book of a Hundred Hands'.

"The movement in Saras hands and her face as she signed was so full of energy and grace - in the end it was the movement I was transfixed by."

"The work is about nonverbal language - ways we use communicate for over 50% of our interactions with each other. So I've focussed on body language, gesture and sign language. I'm really interested in networks of communication - and in relationships between people - what we say and don't."Adele Jackson's latest work Beyond Words at Thistle Hall Gallary this week uses a deaf model, Sara Pivac Alexander, to sign fragments of poetry about hands from a book by American poet Cole Swensen 'The Book of a Hundred Hands'.

"The movement in Saras hands and her face as she signed was so full of energy and grace - in the end it was the movement I was transfixed by."

"The work is about nonverbal language - ways we use communicate for over 50% of our interactions with each other. So I've focussed on body language, gesture and sign language. I'm really interested in networks of communication - and in relationships between people - what we say and don't."During what hours of the day do you feel most inspired?
For me it's either the middle of the night or the middle of the afternoon.

How would a good friend describe your aesthetic or style?
I asked a good friend and they said 'your art or you'? And I said 'go for it' - so they said ' funky retro chic' - I don't think they meant my painting!

What aspect of your creative practice gives you the biggest thrill?
Well I have to say it would be the beginning - when the ideas all come like a rush of blood to the head - and each ones an unknown possibility like a packet of Lifesavers

How does your environment affect your work?
Hugely! Being surrounded by a creative community's really important to me - sharing ideas with other artists, hanging out in the local art shop and being surrounded by art galleries - those things are nutrients , they feed the ideas and expand my thinking. And I've got to say - a warm light studio helps heaps too - oh and music!

Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?
When I'm developing my ideas I'm still looking at the big picture - but when I'm making a work I zoom in and out .

What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?
My number 1 business tip? Well that'd be promote yourself - because if you don't you're history, but my number 1 tip to survive in the creative industry and still be true to yourself would be to believe in yourself and value your work, and your process. They're different things - and sometimes one actually runs counter to the other.

Which of your projects to date has given you the most satisfaction?
To date that would be this one. 'Beyond Words' has been such a cool journey - it's opened me to the deaf community (and I've met some lovely people), to ways of seeing and describing what I see - combining a love of gestural mark making with figurative drawing - that's been fun; and it's been one I've been able to fully immerse myself in for the past 8 months.

Describe your current work Beyond Words?
This body of work comprises drawings. There's a series of large 2 metre long drawings with under painted washes of loose acrylic paint gesso and graphite. The subject of these is Sara (Sara Pivac Alexander) - a deaf model who signed fragments of poetry from a book by an american poet, Clole Swensen about hands.

The other drawings in the show describe gestures and hand shapes - and they're mostly self portraits. I want the viewer to question the juxtaposed images and come up with their own interpretation.

What inspired this work?
The work is about nonverbal language - ways we use communicate for over 50% of our interactions with each other. So I've focussed on body language, gesture and sign language. I'm really interested in networks of communication - and in relationships between people - what we say and don't.

While I was exploring gestures a friend sent me a book of poems about hands. The poems are so spacious, and accoustic - I thought it would be cool to bring them through a series of iterations - and interpretations from printed word to sign , to drawing, and see what developed.

The movement in Saras hands and her face as she signed was so full of energy and grace - in the end it was the movement I was transfixed by.

You used a deaf model to sign the works. How did you come up with this idea and how did you go about it?
I worked with a deaf colleague once - and I used to write for him sometimes in meetings and at social events, it fascinated me. After I decided to draw the poems as sign language I contacted the Deaf Association to book a translator and they suggested I work with Sara because she's a native speaker, having been deaf since birth.

How long have you had this idea and how long did it take to complete?
I've been working on the idea and the body of work for over 8 months now - it's been finished a couple of months now, and I've been preparing for the show.

What does the end result represent?
To me the end result represents the beginning of my next project - the seeds are in there and after this week I'm sure I'll know where this work will take me then. I'm still working on the ideas - the swift movement and the dance of language. I'd like to return to painting now and work on some larger pieces.

What do you hope the viewer might discover?
I hope the viewer will read the works and feel connected with images - with the poetry of the signs, the movement and the feeling the works convey. I don't want the viewer to simply read them as translations of the poems, because the poetry was a starting point not an end in itself.

If you could go back and choose a completely different career path to the one you've chosen, what would it be?
Social anthropology

What place is always with you, wherever you go?
Lately that place has been Cuba St in Wellington - I've carried the street with me for the past 4 months now.

What's the best way to listen to music, and why?
Out loud, outside - or just out so you can sing and dance without feeling a dork or wearing white spagetti in your ears.

You are given a piece of string, a stick and some fabric. What do you make?
I'd make a screen to stick in the sand so I could make shadow puppets with my fingers by firelight on the beach.

What's the best stress relief advice you've ever been given?
Don't sweat the small stuff and have a good supply of single malt handy.

What's great about today?
It's the week of my show, I can enjoy the sun flooding through the gallery windows and plan the next work!

What's your big idea for 2008?
I've been toying with this idea of making a cluster of huge revolving paper shadow lanterns as tall as me with candles in them - that project images around the walls of a room which is painted as a three dimensional abstract painting, so the walls become a moving changing feast of colour and transient shadows. I must have been inspired by the International Festival of the Arts - there's an interactive piece of art on the wall outside te Papa at the moment which people can play with; making shadows of different sizes, it's so cool to see strangers playing together in the dark.

Beyond Words is at the Thistle Hall Gallery 293 Cuba St Wellington from March 10 -16

Read more TBI Q&A interviews

11/03/08