About

I’m Jess Kidd, a Yorkshire-based mixed media artist. I usually start by wandering—no plan, just seeing what catches my eye.

I tend to work in response to the places around me and how they make me feel. Using a psychogeographic approach, I follow small, overlooked details in everyday life. This way of working allows me to slow down, notice the small things and find a kind of quiet beauty in the ordinary.

The way I work is playful. I enjoy experimenting with and manipulating materials, guided by a desire to express my own interpretation of reality. I’ve found that if I enjoy the process of creating, some of that joy can carry through to the viewer.

My work encourages a deeper appreciation of the places we live in—an alternative to the apathy or negativity that can surround them. After moving back home, I found myself captivated by the Pennine post-industrial landscape I had taken for granted as a child. I’m particularly drawn to work that invites people to see the familiar differently.

I graduated in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, London, in 2008. Shortly after, a prolonged period of serious illness forced my practice to take a backseat. Over time, I gradually rebuilt my creative life, and in 2023 I was awarded both the Scott Creative Arts Foundation Emerging Artist Award and the Joan Day Painting Bursary from South Square Centre. This led to a period of focused development and a two-month solo exhibition, Searching for the Light.

Alongside exhibiting my work, I’ve collaborated with local communities, leading workshops and outreach sessions for organisations including the National Trust, Arts for Brain Health, the Brontë Parsonage Museum, People First, Better Start Bradford and Pennine Prospects.

My practice isn’t mapped out in advance. In a fast-paced world, I choose to slow down and work in a way that feels honest to me, allowing the work to remain open and responsive. One constant, however, is my connection to nature. Even in the centre of town, a wildflower pushing through a crack in the pavement will grab my attention.

I live with long-term chronic illness, mental health challenges, and neurodivergence, which shape how I work. Like the seasons, my practice moves in cycles —periods of rest and reflection aren’t interruptions, but essential. I’ve found that my work deepens and strengthens because of them.