The Fast by Audrey Jackson
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 26″ x 18″

This piece is just one of many pieces I’ve made having to do with eating disorders. The Fast is essentially a self-portrait, I’ve been battling with anorexia since I was just a child and I wanted to paint something that conveyed what anorexia sometimes felt like to me. In the painting you can see a scale at the top, representing 0 pounds, the skeleton wears a hospital bracelet on the right wrist, and the swing itself doubles as a cutting board with fresh fruits. The story I had in my head was that with anorexia you’re never satisfied with how skinny you are, you just keep wanting to get smaller and smaller, and the skeleton on the swing just keeps swinging higher and higher into its own illusion. The fruit on the cutting board is untouched and uneaten and the tally marks on the wood represent the one time long ago that I tried fasting for 11 days. This painting is product of my own experience. When I first started making art I used it as a tool to help me get my dark thoughts out of my head, and it became my therapy. Now that I’ve become more experienced with fine art and have chosen to make a career out of it, I hope to express and expose myself in order to create awareness about certain topics.

Pursuing an artistic career since childhood, Santa Margarita–raised Audrey Jackson now pursues her dream at CalArts at the age of 22. Inspired by artists like Rene Magritte and Mark Ryden, her paintings usually consist of colorful characters and cryptic symbols. “My work allows me to make the connection between strong emotion and the medium to coexist on a physical plane.” Audrey’s art can be found permanently hanging in Rosalina Barrio Santa Margarita, “An Audrey Jackson Gallery.” Instagram: mother_drear. Website: www.audreyjacksonart.com