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Pigeonholed
Kurt Jackson for Prisoners of Conscience

March 24th – April 21st 2018.
(Upstairs Gallery Space)

 

The dove of peace when used by Picasso created an extraordinarily powerful and lasting political symbol. Adopted by campaigners for peace, liberation and equality around the globe, the dove also represented his identification with the weak and vulnerable and a longing for safety and protection. The image also became associated with the relationship between peace and the suffering of women and children in all wars.

 

Staring at racing pigeons you are reminded of their wild free relatives nearby. If the dove [the domesticated pigeon] has represented peace and freedom then extend that to the wild species and you have the ultimate metaphor.

 

“Kurt Jackson has conceived a series of works that reveal aspects of experience of the prisoner of conscience – of solitude, of despair, of loneliness, but for the most part, of desire for and experience of peace and freedom, of being reunited with family and friends, of messages sent, whether actual or imagined, symbolised in pigeons and doves of peace. Together with the extraordinary written contributions in the special ‘catalogue’ these depictions create an expression that informs and delights but also disturbs and provokes.”

Catriona Jarvis
Chair of Trustees, Prisoners of Conscience

 

During the Pigeonholed exhibition (23rd March to 21st April 2018), 10% of the proceeds of sale of any of these works will be donated by Kurt and Caroline Jackson to the Prisoners of Conscience Appeal Fund, of which they are Patrons.

 

Pigeonholed was created to raise funds for Prisoners of Conscience and previously exhibited at the Guardian Newspaper headquarters in London 22 – 29 November 2016.

A limited-edition catalogue has been produced to accompany this body of work comprising images of the paintings, interleaved with both poetic and prose responses from former prisoners of conscience and a range of well-known figures including writers, lawyers and the artist Kurt Jackson. The Pigeonholed catalogue is available from Kurt Jackson Editions.

Prisoners of Conscience LogoPrisoners of Conscience is a small charity based in London. Originally established in 1962 as the relief arm of Amnesty International, they are a separate charity and the only agency in the UK making grants specifically to prisoners of conscience – individuals who have been persecuted for their conscientiously-held beliefs, provided that they have not used or advocated violence.