Billy Jackson is a 29-year-old Digital-Canadian artist living online and in Victoria, BC, Canada – the land of the Lekwungen people. He enjoys video games and digital communities, accumulating over 900 active days in digital environments. This led to his current exploration of "Digital-Realism" in which he explores avatars and virtual personas as authors of the artwork. He enjoys people and is interested in understanding human felt experiences through discussions with people from all walks of life. His workflow is structured with many parallel ideas running in tandem. He consumes media in the form of internet videos, music, digital articles, and games. He is a curious person, always looking to unpack, understand and research the things he encounters in life that energizes him.
A post-medium, institutionally literate artist. I focus on embedding labour into conceptual art with a punk refusal of professional polish engaging in constant dialogue with the art historical cannon. Disobedient objects that reject yet yearn for the white cube. I like elevating low forms of art through embodied personal explorations and conceptual clarity that draws attention to power dynamics while disrupting visual hierarchies. I don’t respect conventions simply because they are established. My work exists within self-defined frameworks and self-set parameters, utilizing this structure as a game in which I can play. Sometimes a hug, sometimes a punch; often both. Using my digital body, I create work which transcribes the digital experiences and environment to create physical work which is free from the burden of physicality. Using my physical body, I interface between digital realms and physical environments, exploring the relics the mediated rhetoric leaves behind. I believe that value is not linked to physicality; I applaud Olympic victories the same as speedrunning world records. I will fight for this. Through extended exposure to competitive digital environments, I have gained insight into the idea of meta-relevant processes. In a gamified context, M.E.T.A is an acronym for most effective tactics available. In other words, If I do not expand myself in the most efficient way, then I am operating at a theoretical time-loss. This idea is at the core of my creative practice, expanding my ability to sustain extended flow states, strategize my goals and create workflows that synergize well.
