Thompson Hall

In June 2021 Jennifer chatted to Thompson about his art, its placing within the wider contemporary arts field and how comfortable he feels being a part of that field. 

Jennifer: What does being able to show your work in galleries and sell your work mean to you? 

Thompson: It means that I make so much progression in my work and knowing how far I have come from the beginning and the early stages and seeing how my practice has developed. I have stuck with it, showing what I am good at and getting the appreciation. 

[About Koppel Gallery show] I enjoyed the process to show my work in a gallery space. The most important thing is that my family came and that meant a lot to me. It was a little overwhelming and emotional for me personally. My mum knows that I do work in my room sometimes, but I don’t really show her what I do. She was proud and that meant a huge deal to me. 

It has been a life ambition to show my work in a gallery. I’ve always thought about it from the beginning and thought one day it could be me! It was nice to have my group see the work in a gallery too. 

Jennifer: And let’s talk about selling work, how does that make you feel?

Thompson: It makes me realise how popular my work is with certain groups of people. People seem fascinated where I get my ideas from and how they develop. This then gives me a chance to work on new things and push my ideas forward. At first, I was unsure about selling my work, but then once it sinks in, I am proud that it has been sold. I can also look back at photos of the work and I have lots of memories of how I spent time working on it, so I don’t feel sad about it. I know I need to develop and progress too. 

Jennifer: Do you still feel excluded from certain art world opportunities? And if so, how?

Thompson: I find that the work I see in big galleries does not represent artists like me. They seem to favour people who they already know and people that have come from well-known art schools. I find it quite disturbing. Sometimes I go into galleries and think my work is just as good, so why can’t it be there. It should be access to all to show their work, not cherry picked. And when my work is shown, it might be under an ‘outsider’ label, which I don’t want placed on me. 

For some galleries I think it is fear and shame that they do not show this work. They do not feel it is good enough, but they do not know enough about the work that I make, and assumptions are made that it is not good enough. If you are not academically trained, then you are not good enough. 

When people say my work is ‘outsider art,’ I find it quite offensive. I am just a regular artist so why present me in a box? Don’t judge a book by its cover I say. It is not acceptable to behave in the way they do in this day and age - judging a book by its cover, without reading the pages!

Jennifer: Where would you most like to show your work? 

Thompson: I would love to have a piece of work shown in a major gallery. Maybe at Hauser and Wirth in London. I like the space and how they lay their shows out. I felt welcomed in the space and not alienated. I was able to look at the work at my own pace and I like that. I felt comfortable there. 

Jennifer: As interest and recognition grows for talented neurodivergent and disabled and learning disabled artists, they might become more vulnerable to exploitation — is this something that concerns you? 

Thompson: It does concern me. I’ve been told I’m not a good judge of character and it is hard to know who would and wouldn’t exploit you.

It makes it hard for me to judge who I can trust and who I can’t. And who is on my side and who isn’t. People need to be on my side for the good and the bad times. 

I try to think about the motive when people are speaking to me. Are they generally interested in my work or just saying things to make me feel better or to relieve a sense of guilt in their conscious? Sometimes people just want to be part of the glory it seems. 

In the last two years I have had more opportunities and I have learnt how to manage things better. I have learnt to relax and enjoy the process and to take a step back if things get too much. This has come from building my confidence. I know to say no to things if I already have too much on. 

NOTE: At ActionSpace Thompson has built up a relationship with the staff over a long period of time, and now feels comfortable to talk to them and say if he ever feels uncomfortable with anything, or wants advice or support, etc. Thompson can take more ownership now too, through the trust and his relationship building with ActionSpace staff and facilitators. 

Jennifer: How easy do you find talking to people you don’t know at events? Are you comfortable going up the people you do not know? 

Thompson: I am okay talking to people about my work. People say I am a great orator and that I am good at it – I didn’t believe them at first. I am not trying to be a car salesperson when I do it, but people often come up and say thank you for telling me about your work. I think I am able to put people at ease when talking to them and that they do not feel threatened. I understand that some people just like to look at my work and make up their own mind and that is fine.

When I had an exhibition at Project Ability a school group came as part of their Art Award to meet their ‘artist heroes.’ They asked a lot of questions that I was not expecting, but I liked it. They asked things like, ‘do you enjoy making art?’ and yes I do. I get a lot of pleasure out of it. I didn’t answer the questions straight away, taking time to think about my answer before saying it to everyone.

It is sometimes a challenge to talk to people, but the school group were engaged in what I had to say. I learnt a lot from this experience and knowing when to take time to explain what I do and not rush into giving answers. I got into my rhythm. This has taken time and has developed since doing the Creative Minds conference around five years ago. I do still sometimes find it hard to get going, but I relax then.

For me it is important to try and speak for myself, rather than others speaking on my behalf, so that I can get used to doing it. It builds my confidence and I like talking to different people now. You teach yourself how to do it. I do make the odd mistake, but this happens to everyone and then you carry on. 

Jennifer: In an ideal world, if you had the opportunity to sit down with curators from bigger galleries, what would you like to talk to them about? 

Thompson: I would ask them why they don’t want to show work I have made, opposed to someone who has been through the [art education] system? Why don’t they show it that much?

Jennifer: If a gallery said to you: why is your work good, and why should we show it and sell it, what would you say to them?

Thompson: I think a strong point of my work is that it is something that people can relate to or reflect upon. They might be able to see themselves within it or see it in their own lives or whatever. Or it is observational things that happen every day. 

Jennifer: What kind of themes would you tell people are within your works?

Thompson: They are to do with politics, the news and everyday situations. They are something I have developed for some time now. 

Jennifer: And why are these themes important to you Thompson?

Thompson: It is something that people can see in themselves or can understand my point on view on subjects. I can start a debate with my work about different subjects and get different people’s points of view and opinions on things. That is good. 

Jennifer: How would you like your work shown and talked about in a contemporary or mainstream gallery?

Thompson: I would like my work shown like a series of works and for it to be described in a way that picks up on the subjects in my work that viewers can relate to and talk about. I make work that people can make their own opinion about, and they can make up their own mind about the subjects I discuss. My work can be used as starting points for conversations. I want people to focus on the themes in my artwork rather than me as a disabled artist. I do not want people to think of me as a disabled artist, but just as an artist. It is not nice to be labelled like that and I find it disappointing. I want them to focus on me as an artist, who makes work focusing on politics and everyday life and other things.

I don’t want to be under scrutiny as a disabled artist all the time. I make work that people can understand and relate to and so I shift the focus away from my disability with my work. Why focus on what the person is, rather than their work? Some galleries shift the focus away from the work and I don’t think they should. For me, I think they should focus on what is made, where the influences have come from and what it means to the artist, as that is what I think the viewer wants to know about.