Cornish artist inspired by 'bravery' of RNLI crew in new work
Kurt Jackson has shared his personal perspective on what moved him to celebrate the work of the RNLI
Between March and August this year, Cornish artist, Kurt Jackson exhibited RNLI Cornwall at the multi-award-winning Jackson Foundation Gallery in St Just.
A collection of over 75 paintings that document the vital role of RNLI lifeboats and lifeguards in Cornwall, the free exhibition has raised over £24,000 so far and 100% of the proceeds are going to support the work of the RNLI.
Kurt's been speaking on an episode of the RNLI 200 Voices project about his deep connection to west Cornwall, the iconic orange and blue lifeboats, how his father was rescued by the RNLI when Kurt was a young boy, and the powerful emotions evoked during his time spent in the old Penlee Lifeboat Station.
Kurt said:
‘As a person who paints the sea it is such an amazing subject… these vivid orange and dark blue boats which are just so attractive on one level, but what they stand for is so profound.
‘The fact that people are prepared to go the extra mile, to put themselves out there to make the ultimate sacrifice.’
On 19 December 1981, the crew of the Penlee lifeboat Solomon Browne were lost attempting to rescue the crew and passengers onboard the Union Star. Tragically everyone onboard both boats that night were lost in the disaster.
In 1983 Penlee RNLI moved to Newlyn to accommodate a new, bigger lifeboat. As a mark of respect, the old lifeboat station was kept much as it was on 19 December 1981, untouched for over 40 years.
‘I managed to get access to the Penlee boathouse and made a series of works about that space, about that void where a boat should be, where now it’s empty.
‘It’s frozen in time and it’s the most incredibly powerful experience to go in there, and hopefully I succeeded in making work to try and capture that feeling.’
‘It’s an incredibly emotive place. It was a privilege to be given that access and also that time on my own there – and allowed to make my work, which is my way of responding to that place and that situation.’
The RNLI Cornwall exhibition also featured photos of Cornwall over the last two centuries. Including photo samples from Jack Lowe’s Lifeboat Station Project and RNLI Photographer Nigel Millard’s shots of lifeboats in action.
The RNLI’s 200 Voices podcast is releasing a new episode every day for 200 days, in the run-up to the charity’s bicentenary on 4 March 2024, exploring captivating stories from the charity’s history and through to the current day.
Available across all podcast platforms and the RNLI’s website, listeners can hear from survivors, supporters, volunteers, lifeguards, celebrity ambassadors, historians and many more from across the UK and Ireland.