Carl Jaycock: art practice
The continuing focus in Carl’s artworks, installations and site specific works have been to create art, that explores aspects of culture and postcolonial history with local or global connections. The mixed media developed art works are about human concerns and combine images from a variety of public and personal archives. The artworks raise ideas on a multiple and combined cultural perspective. Images are woven, shredded, altered and explored through digital technology to create artworks rich in associations.

Carl’s artworks celebrate and explore our cultural diversity and trans-cultural ideas. The artworks, installation and site specific works question the use of objects and images that traditionally reinforce national identity. Imagery and text has been used from personal letters to contrast and compliment the content of the images. This is combined with material appropriated from other sources such as newspapers and TV. These are then explored for ideas and its consuming richness of imagery and text. Books have been used as source material to raise question on what we learn or learnt in school or via the media, books as objects, as simulacra of knowledge and truth, are put under scrutiny as signifiers blending the sacred and the profane.
The internet is also used for inspiration and projects for the understanding that reality is no longer dependant only on our personal and physical experience, but more and more assisted by communication, which synthesises a day in a world's life for us.

Familiar portrait formats such as passport photos with their link to identity for official documents have played a prominent role in recent artworks. Ideas of dual and multiple cultural identities inspired from living in South East Asia and other countries have given Carl themes to explore in his artworks.

Images are digitally manipulated and explored through a range of techniques. The computer has been an important tool allowing the creation of new meanings and images by exploring the alteration of photos to question photographic truth and cultural views in a digital global age. Images are manipulated and transferred onto new materials; fabric and paper have been explored most extensively for versatility and vulnerability. Artworks have been woven, shredded, re-combined, altered and explored via digital media and craft skills to create artworks with many layers of interpretation.

Carl Jaycock: Project and Commissions
Carl has a wide range of experience devising and completing projects and commissions these include large scale architectural involved works to community connected projects using digital technology that incorporate peoples views and imagery into textile artworks. Recently Carl has worked with pro/Posit in conjunction with architects Nigel Coates and Doug Branson and the Mac/Sampad team on the capital project development proposals for the Midlands Arts Centre. The project aims include ‘creating an arts centre for a truly multi cultural, fully accessible arts centre that is diverse and inclusive’.

A consultation combined booklet project called Expedition Ladywood commissioned by Gallery in the Trees at Birmingham City Council was recently completed. This involved working with several groups of local residents in the Ladywood ward of Birmingham, to support an expression and critique of the neighbourhood by the selection of special places and things that had a personal significance and help expressed the sense of pride and belonging to the neighbourhood which is sometimes viewed by outsiders as a hostile place to live.

Carl has worked on several large scale textile projects which combine community workshops using traditional and digital technology to develop textile artworks that reference local identity and the personal histories of the people who contribute to their making. Journey Through Time working with groups of elderly around south Shropshire. The Roots and Identity Project with the Aston Hall Asian Women’s Textile Group combined digital technology and traditional embroidery artwork to explore the groups experiences, personal history and identity the collaboration resulted in the creation of highly detailed and decorative banner using digital printing techniques and traditional Asian embroidery.

The Kingshurst Shopping Parade Project of poetry sculpture, large laser cut steel fence embellishments and two large steel sculptures, project using poetry and text inspired from community connections. This was commissioned by the community of Kingshurst and Solihull Council. Carl Jaycock was the digital media artist, fence designer and responsible for ‘branding’ the project. Working in collaboration with poet Ralph Hoyte and incorporating the skills of metal worker Claire Davies designs were developed in consultation with a community focused steering group.
Onderneming & Kunst based in Amsterdam commissioned 900 artworks for the cruise liner Holland America Liner creating artworks for every cabin, designs based on travel experiences and world perspective.