JFK Turner’s work is concerned with two key elements, images and objects. Fascinated by what an image is, how we respond to them and how we construct and make them. He believes all images have abstract values and all abstract images are steeped in reality.
Equally, Turner is drawn to the power of objects, both treasured and discarded. He collects found items from the modern world—a scrap of cardboard, a fragment of plastic—discovered in streets, car parks, and waste ground. Removed from their context, these objects become strange yet familiar, later transformed into two-dimensional images through drawing, projection, or print-based processes, and reconstructed using non-artistic materials such as wax, cardboard, or roof tiles.
These works, often painted on wood, blur the line between painting and sculpture, openly revealing their construction. Turner works within strict self-imposed limitations, finding creative possibilities in constraint. His focus remains on a single, enduring idea—one he returns to continually: if you pull at a single thread, the world unravels.
Originally from Manchester, Turner is now based in Eastbourne. He graduated from the Southampton Institute in 1998 with a BA in Fine Art, later completing a PGCE, and currently teaches at college level.